The Dangerous Type
by Sunnydale107
Summary: Crossover fic wBuffy the Vampire Slayer. A new girl comes to town and everything Derek and Casey thought they knew gets all rearranged. Not a Dasey! Complete.
1. Welcome to the Canadian Hellmouth

The Dangerous Type

Everyone knows that being sixteen and moving to a new town can be tough. Candace Farrell knew that even more than other girls her age. At first glance, she just looked like a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She only stood at about five feet tall and had shoulder length black hair. Her eyes were dark brown but when she was angry, they looked almost black. Candace had a secret. She could fight. She didn't just fight regular people, she fought supernatural forces. Superhuman strength and wooden stakes were her main weapons but not the only ones. Candace was a vampire slayer and she had just relocated to the most recently discovered Hellmouth in Canada.

As far as personality went, Candace was the perfect candidate to be a slayer. She was smart, quick on her feet, loud, confident, she did not mind being by herself, and determined. Sure there were times when she let her emotions get the best of her but that was part of what made her a good fighter. There were times when she needed to channel her anger in order to help her defeat her foes. One of her main flaws was that whenever she came across a guy that she was attracted to, she would just lose all confidence and control of her words. She and everyone around her referred to it as "word vomit". Candace was charming and knew how to get her way, especially when it came to her watcher, Andrew Wells.

Derek Venturi was the typical ladies man that got anything he wanted. He was tall and good looking and knew exactly what to say to the girls. It was as if charm oozed out of every pore of his body. A steady relationship with a girl was not his cup of tea. He was more of the date them and leave them type. In his own way, he was almost like a male version of Candace. Cocky was practically his middle name and he seemed mostly to enjoy tormenting his stepsister, Casey MacDonald. Little did he know, his life was about to change and so was his view on girls.

**The first day of school**

"Ok, Andrew, I get the point but I am at school now and the problem will have to wait until I get out." Candace said into her pink cell phone. "It's my first day of school and I don't want to screw anything up and make myself look even more obviously lost than I already am." She wasn't really paying attention as she walked down the hall. She just kept going on to Andrew.

Derek flipped through his comic book as he walked down the hall. Shoving one of his hands into the pocket of his leather jacket, he pulled out a piece of gum, unwrapped it and put it in his mouth. Turning the corner, he bumped right into someone, knocking both of them to the floor. "Hey, watch out!" He exclaimed.

"Dammit! Andrew, I'll call you back. Some jerk just knocked me to the floor because he wasn't paying attention to where he was going." Candace flipped her cell phone closed and shoved it into her pocket. Derek closed his comic book and stood up, noticing that he had actually knocked over a very pretty girl. "Oh, I am really sorry for knocking you over." He held his hand out to her. After a moment's hesitation, she took his hand and stood up, discretely checking to make sure she did not drop any weapons. "My name is Derek Venturi." He shook her hand. "I'm Candace Farrell." She gave his hand a squeeze to show her strength. Also, she was checking to make sure he had a pulse. "And, you were not paying attention." Grinning, she noticed he pulled his hand away. Briefly, he caught the sight of some bruises on her arm. "So, I'm guessing you fall down a lot?" He asked, looking at her arm. "What's that supposed to mean?" She looked confused. "Well, you've got bruises on your arm." He pointed out. "Oh, no, I'm a… I take up different kinds of martial arts. You, know, to keep my stamina up." She shifted her messenger bag slightly. "So, your hobby is fighting people?" He questioned. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." She looked into his intense brown eyes. "What's with all the questions? You nosey or something?" Laughing, he looked at her. "No, I just like to get to know pretty girls. Unless you have a boyfriend then I'll try to back off but I can't make any promises. That guy on the phone, he's not your boyfriend, is he?" Taking a step back she stifled a laugh. "Andrew? No way, he's just my wat… er boy."

_I cannot believe I just told this guy that Andrew is my water boy. What is he going to say next? Surely, I can't say that Andrew's my watcher and I'm a vampire slayer and your school sits on top of a Hellmouth. He probably doesn't even know what a Hellmouth is._ _And why do they keep building schools on top of Hellmouths anyway? _Candace's mind raced like crazy. She hated hiding her identity but she could not just go around telling everyone that she was a vampire slayer.

"Water boy?" Derek leaned up against a locker. "You keep in touch with your water boy? What sport?"

"Uh, hockey." Candace blurted out. "I treat my water boy like he's one of the team because he really is. We'd all be dehydrated and wouldn't be able to play if it weren't for him." _Shut up, Candace. Stop babbling on and on. You're making a fool of yourself. Why am I babbling anyway?_

"Hockey? I love hockey." Derek smirked. "I'm on the hockey team here. We don't have a girl's team but you should try out of the boy's team. I wouldn't mind seeing you out there next to me on the ice." Suddenly, the bell rang. Candace ran off without saying a word.

Stopping outside of her first class, Candace felt her mind fill with regret for just running off on the guy like that. A familiar voice popped into her head as she flashbacked to a conversation she had with a sort of mentor.

**Flashback**

**(Two months earlier, London, England)**

Buffy Summers sat Candace down on the couch in her office at the new Watcher's Council. Buffy was always a very pretty girl. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Having been a vampire slayer for more than ten years and being the only slayer for a long time, she could give Candace some good advice.

"We need to talk about what life is going to be like when you move to Canada to deal with the Hellmouth." Buffy looked at the girl opposite her.

"It's kind of intimidating." Candace shrugged. "Not only do I have to deal with a new school and new friends but I've also got to deal with the Hellmouth and the forces of evil. Oh, and Andrew."

"I'm not really worried about you dealing with the Hellmouth." The blonde pointed out. "You're good at being the slayer. It's the part where you have to make friends without spilling your secret that worries me."

"I used to be so good at making friends." Candace sighed. "But, ever since I've had to carry this secret with me, it's been hard. I see a cute guy and I just want to tell him everything about me. Of course then I end up babbling because I'm trying to keep this secret and I'm nervous."

"You just need to put yourself out there." Buffy said. "Making friends doesn't have to be hard. Be vague about things until you're sure you can trust the people around you. Friends are important. Especially, on the Hellmouth. If you have any questions or you just want to talk then you can call me. I know Andrew isn't the best person to get social advice from." Both girls laughed a bit.

"I think I can do that." Candace nodded. "As long as the guys in Canada are ugly."

The other girl shook her head. "Having relationships with guys when you're the slayer can be tough. But, if you find the right guy then things will work out. Oh, and if you meet any guys that wear leather jackets, check to see if they have a pulse before pursuing a relationship with them." They both stood up.

"So, is that it?" Candace asked. "Am I ready to go to Canada now?"

Buffy nodded. "I think you are. Good luck with everything and try not to let Andrew get on your nerves."

**End Flashback**

Shaking her head, Candace walked into the classroom. There was no way she liked this Derek guy. She was just nervous about almost spilling her secret to a total stranger that had a leather jacket on. "But, he has a pulse." She said to herself as she found a seat in the back of the class. The final warning bell rang and the teacher began going over the syllabus. Suddenly, someone walked into the classroom. "Nice of you to join us, Mr. Venturi." The teacher, Mr. Cunningham said. "Now take a seat and spit out that gum."

_Mr. Venturi?_ Candace looked up and saw Derek walk over to the garbage can and spit out his gum before taking the empty seat next to her. _Don't like him. You need to focus on being the slayer. Guys will just get in the way. But, Buffy did say it was alright to have a relationship with someone I can trust. Can I trust this guy even if it's only as a friend? _She didn't realize that she was staring at him until it was too late.

Leaning over to her, Derek smiled. "Like what you see?"

"Arrogant much?" Candace shrugged. "And, I'm still trying to figure out what it is I'm looking at."

"And, I'm still trying to figure this out." He placed a book on her desk. "I think you dropped it when you fell. What exactly is a slayer?"

"You knocked me over!" Candace scowled. "And, the book is a work of fiction about a girl with supernatural abilities. I like that kind of stuff. It's kinda like your comic book." She turned back to pay attention to the teacher and ignored Derek for the rest of the class.

After that first class with Derek, Candace was beginning to think that she just did not like him. What happened earlier that morning was just a brief misjudgment of character. Checking her schedule, to see what class she had next, she heard a scream come from down the hall. "Derek! This is just disgusting! A fake dead body in my locker!" Candace turned around just in time to see the body fall out of the locker and onto the girl who was screaming. Without hesitation she ran down the hall to help the girl not knowing she was being followed by Derek.

Pushing her way through a crowd of students that was forming, Candace made her way to the girl. Stepping between the girl and the body, she pushed it back into the locker. "Derek, that was the worst prank ever! A mannequin made up to look like a dead body. You are revolting." The girl with long brown hair and brown eyes said.

Examining the body, Candace noticed that it was no mannequin. It was the real thing. She also noticed the two holes in the guy's neck. "Damn." She whispered.

"I did not do this!" Derek exclaimed. "What makes you think I would do something like that, Casey?"

"Um, because you're always doing things like that to me." She shot back at him. Before long the two of them were in a shouting match.

Looking over at Derek and Casey, Candace actually felt a bit bad for Derek. He was getting blamed for something that she knew he didn't do. Finally, she closed the locker and stepped between the two, putting her hands up. Looking at Casey she said, "Derek didn't do this."

"Yeah! I didn't do it!" Derek shot Casey a look.

"Who are you? His new girlfriend?" Casey asked. "You must be new if you don't think that Derek could do something like this."

"I am not his girlfriend!" Candace glared. "I'm just saying that unless Derek is capable of murder then he didn't do it. This isn't a mannequin. It's a real dead body."

As soon as she said that a teacher came over to break things up. "Everyone go to class." It was Mr. Cunningham. "Except for you three." He pointed to Derek, Casey, and Candace. Everyone scrambled off to class, leaving the three students and teacher in the hallway. "Now, who wants to tell me exactly what's going on?" The teacher asked.

"Derek, here, thought it would be funny to put a mannequin in my locker that was made up to look like a dead body." Casey spat out. "And, he enlisted the help of his new friend to pretend that it is a real dead body."

"I haven't been near your locker!" Derek shouted. "I have nothing to do with this."

Candace watched in astonishment as the two argued. _I guess Buffy was right. People on a Hellmouth have the tendency to pretend that supernatural things don't happen. They just make up crazy explanations for them._ Mr. Cunningham was not sure what to do so he just watched the argument as well. Finally, sick of the arguing and Mr. Cunningham's lack of action, Candace opened the locker and let the dead body fall to the floor. _So much for keeping a low profile_. She thought. "This is a real dead body! No one could ever do a make up job that well on a mannequin." The other three just jumped back. Casey let out a squeal. Derek's curiosity got the best of him and he stepped forward and touched the dead body, "It feels like real skin." Mr. Cunningham looked like he was about to faint. "Derek! That's gross!" Casey screamed.

Finally, Mr. Cunningham spoke. "Casey, go to the office and have them call the police or something."

"Gladly." Casey ran off to the office.

"Derek, you get detention for touching the dead body." The teacher said.

"Why doesn't Casey get detention?" Derek asked. "It was in her locker."

"She didn't touch the dead body?" Candace asked.

"Yes, exactly." Mr. Cunningham nodded. "You've got detention as well, Ms. Farrell."

"This is wicked unfair!" A thick Boston accent popped out of Candace's mouth. "I'm the one who pushed the body off of her."

"You disturbed a crime scene." The teacher looked at the body.

"Why are there holes in the guy's neck?" Derek wondered out loud.

"You don't want to know." Candace muttered under her breath.

"Get to class." Mr. Cunningham said to the two students. "Once the police get here things will get sorted out." He took a step closer to examine the body. "Oh no. This is Mr. Keller, the librarian."

After a few moments of hesitation, Candace grabbed Derek by the arm and dragged him away from the scene. "Could you please tell me what happened just now?" He whispered as she walked with him.

"There was a dead guy in that girl's locker." Candace responded. "That's all I know."

They finally arrived at Derek's next class. In a state of shock, he just wandered in and took a seat. Candace, on the other hand, headed to the girl's bathroom. When she got there, she pulled out her cell phone and called Andrew. "Andrew Wells: Watcher extraordinaire." She heard him pick up. "Andrew, it's Candace. We have a huge problem here. There was a dead guy in a locker and he had two holes in his neck. And, of course, I had to be there when everything went down."

"What do you know about the victim?" Andrew asked.

"Just that he's the librarian and he was drained of his blood." Candace explained.

"I'll look him up and come by the house as soon as you get out of school." The watcher told her.

"Yeah, about that, I'm going to be late." The slayer said. "I've got detention because I touched the body and disturbed a crime scene. I didn't know I was in a CSI episode."

"Don't worry about being late. Just continue the day like you have no idea why there would be a dead body on campus." Andrew informed. "Oh, and good luck." They both hung up and Candace exited the bathroom.

Finally, she made her way back to where the incident happened. Noticing that Mr. Cunningham was too occupied with trying to set up a really big barrier to keep the students away from the body, she let out a sigh of relief. When she made it to the body, she started to examine it to see if there were any signs the let her know how this happened. Bending down, she searched through the man's shirt pockets when she heard someone clear her throat behind her. "What are you doing?" Candace looked up and saw Casey standing there.

"I guess I could ask you the same." Candace stood up.

"I was just… I don't know." Casey had a sad look on her face. "Why would anyone want to kill Mr. Keller and then put his body in my locker? I just want a reason."

"People can be messed up in the head." The black haired girl said. "Are they going to send you home? This has to be a traumatic experience for you."

"I can't go home." Casey replied. "It's the first day of school. I can't miss the first day of school."

"Somehow, I think your teachers would understand." Candace gave her a shocked look. _This girl is more worried about it being the first day of school than she is about the librarian's blood drained body in her locker._

"What about you?" The taller girl questioned. "Are you going home? You seem really calm about this whole thing."

"I'm just very curious." Candace lied. "I know it's morbid but I've never seen a dead body before." _Yeah, just keep lying to the girl._

"He's this way." Both girls heard Mr. Cunningham tell the police.

"I think we both need to get to class." Casey said and they both parted to their respective classrooms.

After history class, it was lunchtime. Stepping into the cafeteria, Candace could tell that everyone was talking about Mr. Keller and how she stepped in to push the body off of Casey. It seemed as if every table was full so she decided to just go sit out in the hallway. Suddenly, someone grabbed her by the arm. Looking up, she noticed it was Derek. "I need to talk to you." _Great, more questions about the dead guy._ She thought. Derek pulled her into the hallway. "That was so awesome! You just jumped in there and pushed that guy out of the way. Ok, I'll admit, seeing it fall on Casey was funny and I would have liked to savor that moment a bit longer. And, then when you just opened the locker and let it fall again, I couldn't believe it. You are the coolest girl ever!"

Staring at him, all Candace could do was ask, "What?"

"So, you wanna go out sometime?" He asked her.

"Are you freaking mental?" She glared at him. "Your school librarian was killed and stuffed into a girl's locker and you're asking me out?"

"So, is that a yes?" Derek questioned.

"It's a big fat no!" Candace stormed off.

Derek stood there dumbfounded. _Was I just rejected? No way. Derek Venturi doesn't get rejected by girls. She's just traumatized by what happened this morning. Either that, or Casey has gotten to her._ "Casey! What did you do?" He walked into the cafeteria and over to his step-sister.

"Besides get mauled by Mr. Keller's corpse, I did absolutely nothing."

"I'm talking about Candace." He glared at her. "What did you tell her about me?"

"I didn't say anything to her about you." Casey gave him an annoyed look. "I can't believe you. You were hitting on her, weren't you? There was a dead guy in my locker and you were still trying to pick up a girl. You are the most disgusting person I know, Derek!" She stood up and got her stuff to leave.

"Yeah, well, I didn't wash my hands after I touched that body." He wiped his hand on her sleeve.

"Gross!" She exclaimed as she ran off.

The rest of the day seemed to go by slow for Candace. However, it was uneventful. That is, if you count being whispered about and stared at every time you entered a classroom as uneventful.


	2. Intense Detention

**Detention**

After stopping at her locker, Candace found her way to detention. Mr. Cunningham was in charge that day. He instructed her to sit down in the front row. Not too long after Derek walked in as well and took the seat next to her. "Are we the only one's in here?" Candace asked nervously.

Nodding, Mr. Cunningham said, "You are the only two brave enough to do something stupid on the first day of school. But, I can honestly say that I am not surprised that either of you is in here."

"As long as I'm out of here in time for dinner." Derek shrugged.

"What do you mean, you're not surprised?" Candace asked, ignoring Derek.

"Well, Ms. Farrell, you did get kicked out of your old school for hitting a teacher, didn't you?" Mr. Cunningham gave her a stern look. Derek stared at her. He was finding her more and more attractive with everything he found out about her.

"Yeah, but he was a vam…" She began but stopped herself. "He was not a very nice man." _He was so not nice that I staked him._

"Anyway, I want the two of you to start your assignment for my class while you're in here." The teacher instructed. "You will be working together to interview each other and then I want you each to write a fictional story based on what you know of the other. I have a meeting to attend to so I hope I can trust you to remain here while I'm away." Handing them each a sheet with interview questions, he walked out of the room.

Derek moved his desk next to Candace's. "So, you hit a teacher? Why?"

"That's not on the sheet of questions." She glared at him as she took a pen out of her messenger bag. Watching her every move, Derek noticed that the bruises that were so prominent on her arm earlier were almost gone. Once again his curiosity got the best of him so he reached over and grabbed her arm. He was also looking for any excuse to touch her. "Hey! What are you doing?" She yanked her arm away.

"Just seeing how you concealed your bruises."

"I'm not." She retorted. "I just have a tendency to heal really fast."

"As a hockey player, I am no stranger to bruises." He pointed out. "And, they don't heal that fast."

"Let's just do this assignment so we can get out of here as soon as Mr. Cunningham comes back." She changed the subject. "Do you want me to ask you the questions first?" _Please say yes that way I can avoid the questions until tomorrow and prepare my answers tonight._

"No, I'll go first." He grinned trying to move closer to her.

"Fine, then, ask away." She sighed. _I'll just have to try to come up with something on the spot._

"Birthday?"

"October 7."

"Hometown?"

"Boston, Massachusetts." She thought for a moment. "But, I've spent the last few summers in England." _Crap, he doesn't need to know that._ She looked into his eyes. _But, I guess it's alright if he knows some stuff about me. Not too much, though._

"Ah, so that's where the accent is from." He looked back into her eyes. "What did you do in England?"

"I was just there visiting some friends." She was telling the truth. _So, that's what Buffy meant about being vague._ _Why are we just staring at each other?_

Derek finally broke the "staring contest" with his next question. "Do you think I'm cute?"

"That's not on the paper!" Candace glared at him. "Let's just stick to the paper."

"You don't want to answer that? I guess that's because you think I'm cute and you don't want to admit it." Derek smirked and rested his head on her shoulder. "How could you not think this is a cute face?"

"Easy." She smirked back. "I'm looking at it." Laughing, she flicked him on the forehead. "Now, get back to the paper."

Rubbing his forehead he asked, "Favorite movie?"

"That's a tough one." She shifted in her seat. "I don't think there's just one. One of the all time best has to be The Notebook. But, on the lighter side of things, I love Talladega Nights. Oh, and the Saw movies are awesome! I definitely can't leave out Pirates of the Caribbean. The Kill Bill movies were definitely great because of the fighting scenes. Sin City was also awesome. Anything with Quentin Tarantino is the best. That is one subject I could just go on and on about for hours. I love movies!"

Derek nodded. "So, since you love movies, you should go see one with me sometime."

"Next question, please." Candace brushed his comment off.

"Favorite song?"

"That's easy. 'Don't Stop Believing' by Journey." She thought for a moment. "But, 'We Will Rock You' by Queen gets me pumped."_ Yeah, pumped for killing some demons._

"That's a great song." Derek nodded. "I listen to it before every hockey game." Pretending to stretch, he placed his arm around her shoulders.

"You are so obvious." Candace laughed and rolled her eyes. "For someone I just met this morning, you are very handsy with me."

"What?" He shrugged with an innocent look on his face. "So, about that Notebook movie, what was your favorite part?"

"Why do you care?"

"It's the only one I've seen out of the ones you named and I wanted to see if you liked the same part that I did."

"You've seen the Notebook?" She questioned. "But, you have not seen Talladega Nights, one of the quintessential make you laugh movies?"

"I used to date this girl that made me watch movies like the Notebook." He explained. _Not that we paid attention, we mostly just made out during those movies._

"Well…" Candace thought for a moment. "Ok, the best part is when they come back from the lake and Noah's tying up the boat and it's pouring rain. They start talking and then Noah is like 'it's still not over' and they run to each other and kiss. I melted during that part. That movie made me realize what true love is and what passion is." She was now staring at him, dreamily.

Thinking for a moment, Derek actually did remember that part. "Yeah, that was pretty cool. But, don't tell anyone I said that." He moved closer to her.

Grinning, Candace said, "I don't really know anyone here to tell that to so you have nothing to worry about." She felt herself moving closer to him as well. He pushed a strand of her hair out of her face and let his hand fall to her waist. Moving closer and closer, lips almost touching when suddenly, the door flew open and Casey barged into the classroom. Both Derek and Candace jumped back and looked up at Casey. "There's something going on in the library. The entire faculty is in there and it's locked. All I could see was these unfamiliar people and they did not look very nice. They look like monsters and I think they want to hurt the faculty. I don't know what to do."

"Leave them in there." Derek shrugged. "Then we won't have school tomorrow."

Candace jumped out of her seat and grabbed a stake from her bag. "I'll go see what's going on. You two just stay here and lock the door." She ran out the door then two seconds later she ran back in. "Where's the library?"

Derek gave an I-don't-know look and Casey walked over to her. "I'll show you. Derek, call the police."

The two girls ran down the hall and turned right at the end. Looking into the library, Candace saw about four vampires, two were female and two were male. "Stay here." She kicked open the doors and ran inside. Casey just stood and watched with astonishment.

"It's kind of early for you guys to be out and about, isn't it?" Candace looked at the vampires. "I mean, the sun hasn't even set yet." _Which is why this is so strange. Vampires don't usually come out until the sun goes down._ She noticed that the faculty had managed to lock themselves in the librarian's office.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a slayer to play with." One of the female vampires said. She looked to be the leader and to be very crazy. She had brown hair and was wearing what looked like to be a 19th century style dress.

"So, you wanna play?" Candace grinned. "Ok, we'll play." She threw her stake towards one of the male vampires and it struck him in the chest. Quickly, he turned to dust. Running over, she picked the stake up and did a roundhouse kick to the stomach of the second female vampire, knocking her out the window and into the sunlight where she burst into flames. The other two vampires grabbed a book and disappeared into the back of the library. Candace ran after them but she noticed that they were soon gone. "This is not over." She sighed as she walked out of the library and over to Casey. "You can let the faculty out. I'm pretty sure if Mr. Cunningham sees me out of detention, he'll be pretty pissed."

"What just happened?" Casey looked stunned as she walked over to the librarian's office and let the faculty out.

"You don't want to know." Candace walked back to the classroom. Turning the doorknob, Derek jumped out at her and tried to hit her. "Don't hurt me!" He yelled.

Blocking his fist, she shook her head. "We need to get back to the assignment. Mr. Cunningham's on his way here. And, didn't I tell you to lock the door?" She put the stake back in her bag.

"I can't believe we have a gang problem." They heard Mr. Cunningham say as he walked down the hall. Both of them ran back to their seats and pretended to be working on the assignment when Mr. Cunningham walked in. "You kids are in luck today. Because of a supposed gang attack on the faculty in the library, we are cutting detention short. You may both leave."

Gathering their things, both Candace and Derek walked out of the classroom. "That was intense." Derek said.

"Yeah, you're telling me." Candace sighed. "A gang attack?" She pretended to be surprised.

"That's not what I was talking about." Derek took her hand and linked his fingers with hers. "I was talking about you and me almost kissing."

Pulling her hand away, she glared at him. "Get over yourself, buddy. Now, if you don't mind, I have to be getting home."

Leaning in next to her ear, Derek whispered something. "You know you wanted it to happen. And, now that it almost did, I'm going to be pushing for it to happen. I will get under your skin and in your mind and you won't be able to resist." He turned and walked away with a grin.

"This has to be the most complicated first day of school, ever." Candace said to herself.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Casey's voice came from behind her. "So, you mind telling me what's going on with you?"


	3. Explanations and New Friends

Turning around, Candace's eyes widened. "I… uh… I just saved all of the teachers and stuff from some gang."

"A gang of what?" Casey folded her arms over her chest. "Because the last time I checked regular people don't just turn into a pile of dust or burst into flames when they step outside. Something weird is going on here and it has to do with you."

"You want the truth?" Candace asked.

Casey nodded. "I want the whole truth."

"You have to promise me that you will not judge me and that you will not tell anyone." The petite girl explained.

"I promise."

"Fine, then walk with me." Candace walked down the hall. Casey fell in step with her. "This is tough and very awkward. I'm sick of hiding this secret and I don't want to beat around the bush. I need someone I can talk to. I need a friend."

Casey looked at her. "I can be your friend." She had an apologetic look on her face.

Candace knew that she meant that just by the tone of her voice. "Those people in the library were vampires. Yes, they're real and so are werewolves, witches, demons and any other crazy creature you can think of. I am a vampire slayer. It used to be that one girl was chosen to have the powers of the slayer. However, things changed a few years ago when a spell was done that made it possible for any girl who had the potential to be the slayer to actually be the slayer. This school sits on a mouth to hell. That dead guy in your locker was bitten by a vampire. He had two holes in his neck. You with me?"

Casey watched as the other girl just broke everything down. "That actually explains a lot. I always thought this school was creepy and weird things do happen here. And, after what I saw today, it all just makes sense."

"So, you don't think I'm crazy?" Candace inquired.

"Well, yeah, you were hanging around Derek an awful lot today." Casey teased. "But, not about the vampire stuff."

"Hey, he came up to me first. Actually, it was more like he ran into me and knocked me over. And, I kind of felt bad for him when you blamed him for the dead guy and I knew it couldn't have been him."

"Well, you just be careful around him." The brown haired girl warned. "He has ways of getting what he wants, especially when it comes to girls. Just don't fall into his traps."

"I'll be careful." Candace nodded. "But, I can totally kick his ass. I do have supernatural strength."

Casey laughed. "I wouldn't mind seeing that. So, where are you headed?" She asked.

"I'm just going home to meet up with Andrew." Candace explained. "He's my watcher. That's like a trainer for slayers. Oh, and I told Derek he's my water boy so if he asks about him, that's all you know. You want to meet him? He's kind of a geek but he has a good heart."

"That would be nice." Casey said. "After all, if we're going to be friends then I should meet this guy you work with."

"Then, it's off to see Andrew." Candace smiled.

The entire walk home the two girls talked about everything from vampires to boys. However, neither one of them bothered to bring up Derek. Casey did not feel like talking about her step-brother because she had to see him every day and any chance she had to get away from him was an escape. There was no need to bring him up if she wanted to get away from him. Candace was just preoccupied with making a new friend. She really liked Casey and there was no need for her to bring up some guy that she just met anyway.

"This is it." Candace said as they walked up the front steps to the house she shared with her watcher.

"I didn't know you were the new neighbors." Casey said. "I live two houses down."

"You have got to be kidding me." Candace laughed as she opened the front door. "Andrew! We're home!"

Andrew came down the stairs with his "big board" in hand. "Good. I looked up this librarian and apparently he was onto something. He knew that someone was trying to open the Hellmouth." His blonde hair was sticking up in various places and his shirt was unbuttoned at the top. Looking up, he noticed Casey standing there next to Candace. "Does she know about you?"

Candace nodded. "Don't worry, Andrew. She knows and she doesn't think it's crazy." She walked over and took the "big board" from him and set it on the floor. "Casey, this is Andrew. Andrew, this is Casey."

Trying to smooth out his hair, Andrew went over to Casey and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you." Looking into her eyes, he thought she was very pretty.

Smiling, Casey took his hand. "You too." They both stood there for about ten seconds shaking hands. She found him very attractive as well.

Candace cleared her throat. "Andrew, I think we need to add more to the big board. I just had to rescue the faculty from four vampires. I killed two but the other two ran off with a book."

Andrew ran over to the "big board" with a marker and wrote down what she was telling him. "What can you tell me about the two that got away?"

"One was really crazy looking." Candace described. "She had brown hair and a 19th century style dress and I think she was carrying a doll. What kind of vampire would carry a doll around?"

Andrew looked up from the "big board". "Drusilla." He grabbed one of his books and opened it up as he gave it to Candace. "Is this her?"

After studying the picture for a few moments she nodded. "Yeah, that's her. Wait, this is the crazy one that used to date Spike?"

Andrew nodded. "What about the book? Did you notice anything about it?"

Candace shook her head. "I didn't really get a good look at it. I was too busy saving my teachers."

"I saw what it looked like." Casey chimed in. Grabbing a piece of paper, she drew what looked like to be a Celtic symbol on it. "It had this on the front." She handed it to Andrew. Their hands touched and both of them blushed.

Candace took the marker from Andrew and drew the symbol on the board. "This is a start."

Casey looked at her watch. "I have to get home for dinner. I promised my mom I would cook tonight."

Noticing it was getting dark, Candace nodded. "I'll walk you home. I have to go patrol anyway."

"Patrol?" Casey questioned.

"Yeah, I have to go walk around the cemetery to see if anything pops out and tries to kill me so I can kill it first." Candace explained.

"Oh, ok." The other girl picked up her stuff and smiled at Andrew. "It was nice meeting you."

Andrew couldn't help but blush once again. "You too."

Candace and Casey left and walked to Casey's house. "Hey, you want to come over on Friday night?" Casey asked. "My friend Emily and I are having a movie night and sleepover and if you want, you can join us."

"I could use a girl's night." Candace nodded. "You can count me in. I'll see you at school tomorrow." The girls both waved to one another.

"Oh and bring some movies." Casey smiled as she walked up to her front door.

The girls parted ways and Candace headed to the cemetery. Patrolling didn't take her long. She only ran into two vampires and killed them without much effort. The two vampires from earlier never showed up so she eventually went home and went to bed.

The entire week at school, Candace did her best to avoid Derek even though they had the project to work on. She figured she'd just put it off until the last possible moment. Derek seemed to pop up everywhere she was just to torment her and hit on her. It was really frustrating her because she was still trying to figure out the vampire problem and she didn't need nor want the distraction. On Wednesday, she met Emily and decided that she was also cool enough to share her secret with. She decided that she would tell her at Casey's sleep over.

By the time Friday afternoon arrived, she was so relieved to get the night off from patrolling and enjoy a night of movies without having to worry about Derek popping up and taunting her. She was not prepared for what was going to happen when she got to Casey's house.


	4. Sleep Overs Can Be a Nightmare

**Friday night**

After school, Candace headed home to pack up some things to sleep over at Casey's house. She changed into a pair of grey sweatpants and her Boston Red Sox Jason Varitek t-shirt. Looking through her and Andrew's movie library she decided to take movies from her side since Andrew was a Star Wars and Lord of the Rings geek. She was as well but she doubted that Casey and Emily were. Figuring that it would be a girls only night, Candace picked out the Notebook because of the beautiful romance, Pirates of the Caribbean for the guy candy that is Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom, and Cruel Intentions because of how sad it was. "Andrew, I'm going over to Casey's!" She called to her watcher when she was ready.

"Ok, be careful." Andrew said from the kitchen. "And, let me know if Casey says anything about me."

Shaking her head with a laugh, Candace left and walked two houses down to where Casey lived. She knocked on the door and a young boy around the age of 12 opened the door. His face turned bright red when he saw the beautiful slayer standing there. "You must be Casey's new friend. Please, come in. She'll be right down."

"Yeah, my name's Candace." She stepped into the house. "What's your name?" She held out her hand to shake his.

"I'm Edwin." He shook her hand and grinned widely. "Hey, Candace, that's the same name as…"

"Hey, Candace!" Casey beamed as she came down the stairs already in her pajamas. "I just got off the phone with Emily and she can't make it because her grandmother is sick and she has to go take care of her."

"So, it's just us tonight?" Candace shrugged.

"Us, and my step-brother. My parents have gone away on some kind of second honeymoon thing and they left me to take care of the younger kids. Fortunately for us though, my sister Lizzie is at a friend's house, my step-sister Marti is staying with her grandmother and Edwin will be leaving as soon as his friend comes to pick him up." Casey explained as she sat on the couch. "And, I'm sorry. I really should have told you this before but…"

"My ride's here." Edwin picked up his backpack. "It was nice to meet you, Candace." He left.

"You too." Candace smiled at the boy and then looked at Casey. "What should you have told me?"

As Edwin was leaving, someone else was coming home. The door flew open and a hockey stick was tossed to the floor along with a leather jacket and sneakers. Candace turned around and saw Derek standing there with a smirk on his face. "Casey, you didn't tell me we would be having company tonight." He plopped down on the couch next to Candace.

"He's your step-brother?" Candace asked. "Why does the world hate me so much?"

"Derek, leave her alone!" Casey glared at him. "I'm so sorry, Candace. I should have told you but I was afraid that if you knew he lived here you wouldn't want to sleep over."

"He doesn't intimidate me." Candace shrugged. "Remember, I can take him." The two girls giggled.

"You can take me anywhere you want." Derek put his arm around Candace's shoulders.

"Derek, don't you have to go take a shower?" Casey asked. "You smell pretty bad."

"She's right." Candace smiled. "You smell." She pushed him away from her.

Derek stood up and grinned. "Care to join me?"

"Not if my life depended on it." Suddenly, the phone rang and Derek answered.

"It's some guy named Andrew and he wants to…" Candace was about to pull the phone away from him when he said, "He wants to talk to Casey."

"Really?!" Casey grabbed the phone from him. "Derek, don't bother Candace."

"Me?" Derek asked innocently. "Why would I bother anyone?"

"You can start one of the movies if you want, Candace." Casey told her friend. "I hope you don't mind if I take this call."

"Not at all." Candace grinned. "Take your time. I'll just watch a movie."

Casey practically squealed as she ran up the stairs with the phone. "I guess I'll go take a shower just to please you." Derek winked at Candace as he went upstairs as well.

"What a creep." Candace shook her head and decided to watch The Notebook. Putting the movie in the DVD player she sat in the recliner next to the couch and started to watch her movie. Every so often she could hear Casey giggling upstairs. _Wow. I didn't know Andrew knew how to make girls giggle._ It seemed like Derek was taking a long time with his shower but she really didn't care because then she didn't have to deal with him.

The movie had finally gotten to Candace's favorite part and Casey was still on the phone with Andrew. Derek was just now coming down the stairs. "Out of my chair."

"No, wait." Candace held her hand up. "This is my favorite part." She moved closer to the TV screen, watching it intently. "It's still not over." She whispered the same time Noah did.

"You're right about that." Derek stood in front of her and took her hand, pulling her out of the chair. "It's still not over. We still haven't gotten that kiss yet."

"And, we never are." Candace put her hands on his chest to push him out of the way.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." He put his other hand on the small of her back. She looked into his eyes. "Like I said, it's still not over." He almost sounded like Noah. As if she had lost her self control, she put her arms around his neck. He moved in closer to her. Suddenly, she pulled away and out of his grasp. "What now?"

"I can't do this." Candace looked at him. "It's a stupid kiss. What does it mean? Absolutely nothing because we know nothing about each other. I don't know anything about you except you like hockey and girls. And, you sure as hell don't know anything about me. I've dated guys like you before and I just can't do it anymore. I've been through hell and back and unless we can have what they have," She pointed to the TV screen, "then, we can't do this." Sighing, she sat down on the couch, waiting for Casey to come back.

Completely, in shock, Derek just plopped down in his chair. For the first time in his life, he didn't know what to say to a girl. When it seemed like they had both been sitting there forever in awkward silence, Casey finally came down. "Guess what?" She beamed.

Candace looked over to her. "What?" She asked almost without emotion.

"Andrew got hired as the new librarian at school!" The other girl squealed.

"Awesome!" Candace had almost forgotten about what had just happened with Derek.

"And, I'm going on a date with him tomorrow night to celebrate." Casey sat next to Candace.

"Andrew has a date?" Candace looked surprised. "I guess this is all because of me. You know, I feel really good right about now."

"You are the coolest friend ever." Casey patted her friend on the back. She looked at the TV. "Aww, the Notebook! I love this movie!"

"What is it with girls and this stupid movie?" Derek questioned.

Candace was about to say something when the end had just come on. Before long both Casey and Candace were crying their eyes out.

After the movie was over, Derek went up to his room to contemplate. Casey and Candace watched some late night television before heading up to bed. Both girls seemed to fall asleep very quickly.

_Walking through the halls of Sir John Sparrow Thompson high school, she was barefoot with a flowing lilac dress on. She was walking towards the library. This was not her choice. Something was controlling her movement and thoughts. Reaching the library, she opened the doors and went inside._

_She stood there, staring at Drusilla. Behind the vampire was someone chained to the circulation desk. A flash of lightning and Drusilla glided towards her chained up hostage. That's when she saw his face. Derek Venturi looked scared out of his mind._

_"Time to kill the boy." Drusilla changed into vampire face and grabbed him by the throat._

_"Candace!" Derek cried out. "You have to help me!"_

_Another flash of lightning and Drusilla's fangs were in Derek's neck before Candace could even move. It was as if she was frozen in her spot and could not move. All she could do was watch as the vampire drained the life from the boy._

Candace sat straight up in her sleeping bag. She was breathing heavy and looked around the room. Noticing that Casey was fast asleep, she quietly got up and grabbed a leather bound book and a pen out of her backpack. Carefully, she crept out of Casey's room and over to Derek's room.

Without making a noise, Candace slowly opened Derek's bedroom door and saw him sleeping in his bed. At least she hoped he was only sleeping. Step by step, she moved closer to his sleeping form. Reaching his bed, she lowered her hand and put it on his wrist. Feeling that he still had a pulse, she let out a sigh of relief. All of a sudden, his eyes shot open and he stared at her for a moment. "What are you doing?" He asked groggily.

"Uh… nothing." She ran out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen. Turning a light on, she flipped open the book and took a seat at the counter. Frantically, she started to write down her dream when she heard Derek come in the room.

"So, what's going on inside that head of yours?" He asked, taking a seat next to her.

"Look, it's no big deal." She just kept scribbling in the book like a maniac.

Watching her, he reached over and grabbed her hand to stop her. "You look really freaked out. What happened?"

Looking up into his brown eyes, she sighed. "I had a bad dream, ok? You were in it and some vampire chick killed you."

"Well, it was only a dream. You have nothing to worry about. Dreams like that don't come true."

"Mine do." Candace looked down at their two touching hands. "Do you really like me or do you just want me because you want almost every girl you see?"

"I really like you." Derek actually blushed.

"I need to tell you some stuff." She said slowly. "Casey knows all of this stuff and I guess you should know too."

"Sure." He gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm here to listen to you."

"You may not believe me."

"I'll believe you. I promise."

Taking a deep breath, she started talking. "You ever notice that weird things happen in this town?" Derek nodded. "That's because this town is on top of a Hellmouth. It's a gate to hell pretty much. Vampires, demons, and all kinds of things of the supernatural exist and are in high force on the Hellmouth. I am a vampire slayer. I have supernatural strength to fight these evil creatures. Andrew is not my water boy. He's my watcher. That's a person that works with the slayer in training and research. The dead body in Casey's locker was bitten by a vampire and the 'gang attack' was a gang of vampires."

Derek looked at her. "I was waiting for when you'd tell me. I already knew all of that stuff, though."

"What?" She looked confused. "How did you know? Casey, didn't tell you, did she?"

"Not directly." He looked around to make sure Casey hadn't woken up and come to find them. "I read her diary. See, when I found out that she had befriended you, I wanted to find out more about you and you were avoiding me so I decided to steal her diary and read it."

"So, you knew this entire time?" Candace looked relieved. "But, did you know that I have prophetic dreams? When I dreamed that you were killed by the vampire, I thought it really happened. That's why I went in your room."

"Hey, I'm still here alive and kicking." Derek looked into her dark brown eyes. "Something else is bothering you, though."

"I just miss my parents." Candace seemed like she was about to cry. "They were turned into vampires three years ago. I didn't know what to do. I waited around for weeks in fear until I finally decided that I had to stake them. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I had missed about two weeks of school when people finally started to realize that something was wrong. When Andrew and Buffy found me, I was huddled in the corner of my room and hadn't gone outside in days. I've never been quite the same since." Tears were now streaming down her cheeks.

Derek had only recently figured out how to deal with emotional girls. This was the first time he had actually dealt with something this serious. He gently wiped the tears from her face and pulled her into a hug. "I had no idea." Those were the only words he could think to say.

"I feel so stupid for just crying like that." Candace pulled away from the hug and rubbed her eyes. "I don't usually cry in front of people unless I feel a bond with them."

"You feel a bond with me?" The boy questioned.

"I guess I do. I don't know what it is, though."

"Maybe, we'll find out one of these days."

"So, um, you doing anything tomorrow night?" She asked.

"No. Why?"

"You wanna go on patrol with me?"

"Go on what?"

"Patrol, I have to wander around looking for evil and then kill it." Candace explained. "And, I figure since Andrew and Casey will be off celebrating then maybe you could help me out."

"I'd love to." Derek smirked.

"It's not a date." Candace pointed out.

"I didn't say it was."

"Just making sure you understood." Candace looked at him. "I think that maybe we could be friends."

Derek stood up and stretched. "Wanna watch some TV?"

"Yeah, I don't think I could get back to sleep yet if I tried." She stood up as well and sat on the couch. Derek followed and turned on the TV as he sat next to her. After bickering for ten minutes over what to watch, they decided on a Boy Meets World marathon. About twenty minutes into the show, Candace had fallen asleep with her head on Derek's shoulder. Even though, she had stated that she just wanted to be friends with him, he couldn't help but wrap his arms around her. Within minutes, he was asleep as well.


	5. Don't Play the Hero

A/N: This chapter is pretty long but that's only because something important happens. But, please enjoy and review if you'd like.

* * *

**Saturday**

"Derek! What are you doing to my friend?!" Casey exclaimed the next morning as she tried to shake Derek awake. She had attempted to wake Candace up first but she seemed to sleep through anything.

"Ten more minutes, dad." Derek mumbled, pulling Candace closer.

"What does it take to get people up around here?" Casey stormed into the kitchen and filled up a glass of water. Walking back into the living room she muttered, "Sorry, Candace" and then dumped the cold water on her friend and step-brother.

Both Candace and Derek jumped up off of the couch. "What the bloody hell was that for?" The girl said, slipping into a slight British accent.

"Bloody hell?" Casey and Derek asked at the same time.

"I thought you said you were from Boston." Derek said, grabbing a blanket off of the couch and wiping himself off.

"I am." Candace took the blanket from him and wiped herself off. "But, remember, I've been spending my summers in England."

"What I want to know is what Derek was doing to you." Casey looked at her friend.

"Nothing!" Derek exclaimed, taking the damp blanket and throwing it at Casey.

"I just had a bad dream last night and Derek stayed up with me until I fell asleep." Candace explained. "Nothing else happened."

"So, what do you want for breakfast?" Casey wandered into the kitchen.

"Well, let's see, I would like…" Derek began but Casey cut him off.

"Not you." She hissed. "Candace."

Candace smiled and stuck her tongue out at Derek as she followed Casey. "Something light. I can't eat too much before training."

Derek opened the refrigerator door and took out the carton of orange juice. Candace quickly grabbed a can of Mountain Dew. Derek gave her a look before chugging down some orange juice straight from the carton.

"Derek! Use a glass!" Casey glared at him. "And, you, soda? This early?" She looked at her friend.

"I need the caffeine." Candace replied. "And, I hate coffee. Being a slayer makes you realize what you can use to get your energy up."

Casey stared at Candace. "Hey, we're not alone here. People can hear you loud and clear."

Derek looked up from his orange juice. "I know about the vampire slayer thing."

"You told him?" Casey gasped.

"Well…" Candace looked at Derek who gave her the don't-tell-Casey-I-read-her-diary look. "Yep. My dream was bad. He got killed by Drusilla in it so I went to check and see if he had a pulse. Then, he started to ask questions so I had to tell him."

"I'm not going to comment on the bad dream thing." Casey shook her head. "Bagels?"

"Sounds good." Candace nodded. "I should be able to keep a bagel down during training."

"I didn't need to know that." Casey put some bagels in the toaster. Derek let out a loud burp. "Derek! Excuse yourself!"

"For what?" He shrugged.

Candace laughed. "For burping, you idiot."

"Hey, no one calls me an idiot and gets away with it." He rubbed her hair. This was not very smart on his behalf. Candace grabbed his hand and twisted his arm, effortlessly. "Let go!"

"Supernatural strength." Candace let his hand go with a laugh.

"I thought you were only supposed to use that on forces of darkness." Derek raised an eyebrow.

"And, really annoying guys." Candace shrugged and ran up the stairs to get changed.

Derek was about the follow here. "Where do you think you're going?" Casey questioned.

"To see if she needs help with anything." Derek grinned.

"Don't even think about it." Casey glared at him and handed him a bagel and cream cheese. "And, stop flirting with her."

Candace came down the stairs a few minutes later. She was wearing a pair of black capri-length sweatpants and a white tank top with a pair of sneakers. "I need to get my bagel and run. I've got training with Andrew this morning. In other words, I stand there and hit things while Andrew tells me what's wrong. Then, I tell him that if he knows so much he should do it himself and then he backs down." She laughed as she grabbed her bagel.

"Hey, be easy on Andrew." Casey told her. "I don't want him all bruised for our date."

"I'll try to be." Candace headed out the door. "Oh, see you tonight, Derek!" She called as she closed the door behind her.

Casey looked at Derek. "Why will you be seeing her tonight?"

"She's taking me out on a hot date." Derek teased, knowing that seeing him hang out with her friends got to her.

"Derek!" She glared.

"Ok, we're going out on patrol together."

"Don't do anything stupid." Casey grabbed her bagel and headed up to her room.

"I don't do stupid things." Derek plopped down on the couch and started to watch TV.

Candace spent the morning and afternoon training with Andrew until he realized he had to get ready for his date. He started fumbling around the house, deciding on what to wear. "Is this too watcher-y?" He asked, showing Candace the tweed suit he was wearing.

"Where are you taking her?" Candace took a sip of water.

"Dinner and a movie." Andrew replied.

"Wear your khakis and polo shirt." Candace instructed.

"Right. Khakis and polo shirt." He searched through his closet. "So, what are you doing tonight?"

"Well, I'm probably going to patrol tonight." She replied.

"Cemetery? Park?" Andrew questioned.

"School library." She shrugged like it was nothing.

"You don't know your way around the school that well." He responded.

"That's why I'm taking Derek with me." She turned the leave the room.

"Wait a minute." Andrew stopped her. "Is this the same guy that's Casey's pain in the ass stepbrother?"

"Yeah. So, I need to go get ready now."

"Not so fast. You could be putting this boy in danger."

"He's a hockey player." Candace smiled. "Violence is in his nature. Plus, I'll protect him."

"What about your dream?" Andrew asked. "Drusilla is very dangerous."

"Which is why I'll be protecting him." She sighed. "Plus, we may not even run into her. And, I can check out your new place of employment before you get there to make sure it's kosher." She gave him her puppy dog eyes.

"Fine." Andrew sighed. "But, be very careful."

"I will." Candace ran out and across the hall to her room. Going through her closet she decided to wear a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt with a pink skull on it and her converse sneakers. Comfort was key when it came to slaying. She grabbed a black, stretch hoodie and put it on over her t-shirt.

At around six, Andrew went over to Casey's to pick her up for the date. It would still be an hour before it got dark so Candace put on some music and waited for Derek to come over. Jumping up on the couch, she started to sing along. Granted, the song she was singing to was not her usual type of music. It was "We Belong" by Pat Benatar and the only reason why she loved that song was because of the scene from Talladega Nights.

Derek had decided to head over to Candace's house early since his grandmother was already at his house to watch his younger siblings. He knocked on the door but no one answered. Noticing that the door was unlocked, he walked inside. Looking over at the living room couch, he grinned.

Candace was totally oblivious to Derek's presence. "We belong. We belong together." She sang as she did her best to act out the song. When the song ended, she still was unaware of Derek's presence and he didn't make himself known. The next song was a classic to Boston natives like Candace. She started to jump around on the couch to the Irish-punk sound of "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys. "I'm shipping up to Boston!" She yelled rather than sang. "Climbing up the top sails, I lost my leg!"

As the song ended, Derek smirked from ear to ear. "The last time I checked you had both legs."

Candace's eyes widened and she turned the music off. "How much of that did you see?"

"Just enough to make me realize that you have a wide variety of musical taste." He looked at her.

"Hey, if you had seen Talladega Nights like the rest of the teenage boys in this world, you would appreciate the Pat Benatar song." She retorted.

"And, the second song?" He questioned.

"Dropkick Murphys." Candace shrugged and went over to the weapons chest in the corner of the room. "As an Irish girl from Boston, it's like I have to like them. Irish punk music rocks anyway." She opened the chest and took out some stakes, holy water and crosses. "You'll need some of these."

Derek walked over to the chest. "Wow." He picked up a cross and a stake.

"Hopefully, I'll be the only one who has to use this stuff." She shoved some holy water into her left sock and a cross into her right sock. Putting the stake in her jeans, she said, "We've got to go over some rules." Derek looked at her, interested. "You don't try to be a hero. In this story, the girl is the hero… heroine. That girl is me. You don't talk back to the bad guys. That's also my job. Witty banter comes with the slayer territory. If you don't know what it is then you don't touch it. Do not stray from me. It could be deadly. If you absolutely have to kill a vampire just remember head and heart. Behead them or a piece of sharp wood to the heart. The cross will slow them down but not kill them. You would need way more holy water than that to do the job as well. And, last but not least, have fun. Ok?" She smiled sweetly.

Derek gave her a nod. "So, where are we headed tonight, anyway?"

"A place you know well." Candace thought for a moment and remembered the look he gave her when the vampires attacked the teachers in the library. "I think." She grabbed her keys from the coffee table and led him out the front door.

"Where is that?" He asked as she locked the door behind them.

"Why, it would be school." She put the keys in her pocket.

"Why are we going to school?" Derek asked. "It's Saturday and I really don't like being there more than I have to." They started down the street.

"Because the school is on top of the Hellmouth." She explained. "And, I need to figure out how Drusilla and her vamp friends got into the library during the day. Plus, if you plan on hanging out with me, then you need to get acquainted with the library because that's where I'll be hanging out with Andrew now that he works there."

"I'm only doing this because I like you." Derek told her. "You're a very lucky girl, you know that."

"I just don't know what kind of luck." Candace shook her head as they walked in the direction of the school.

**Casey and Andrew's Date**

"That was an… awful movie." Casey giggled as she and Andrew walked out of the movie theatre.

"Sorry for the bad choice." Andrew looked at her. "I got the impression that it was going to be funny. I mean, Eddie Murphy is usually good at doing many roles at once."

"I know what you mean." Casey nodded. "But, hey, we all make mistakes. And, I thought Norbit was going to be funny too."

"I'm starved." He said. "You ready for dinner?"

"Very ready." She rubbed her stomach. "That popcorn was way too salty for my taste. I could only eat a couple of bites." She linked arms with him.

Andrew's face turned bright red as they walked over to the restaurant a few blocks down. He was having a really great time and so was Casey.

The hostess had shown them their seats and the bus boy brought around some water and bread. "It's like a prison move. Water and bread." Andrew pointed out. Casey only smiled at how cute he looked when he was trying to be funny. Andrew started going on and on about the many movies he had seen since he met his slayer. "I got stuck with the girl most obsessed with movies in the all of slayerdom. But, it can't be as bad as your stepbrother, right?"

"Let's not talk about Derek." Casey made a face as she finished her water.

"You're right." Andrew looked at her empty glass. "More water?" He picked up the pitcher of water.

"Sure." She replied. Andrew couldn't quite reach her glass from where he was sitting. He stood up to fill her glass with water and did so successfully. However, when he sat back down, he managed to knock her water glass over and it spilled onto her lap. "I am so sorry!" Andrew grabbed his napkin and started to dry her lap off and then blushed and sat back down. "Very, very sorry!"

Casey only let out a giggle. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's only water." Normally she would probably freak out over something like that but she really liked Andrew.

Eventually their food came and they ate. They laughed and talked and had a wonderful time. They had decided to go back to Andrew's house at the end of the date and watch some TV.

**The School**

Walking down the hall at night was a little bit creepy for Derek but he would not admit that. "Where did you learn how to pick locks like that?" He wondered.

"It's part of my slayer training." Candace responded.

"Really?" Derek asked.

"No, not really." She laughed. "I learned it from the Internet. You can find anything if you just Google it."

"Gotta love Google." He smiled as they reached the library. "Here we are."

Candace pulled her stake out of her pants. A small smile crept across her face as she pushed opened the library doors. Derek took out his stake as well. The smile on Candace's face faded as she heard the familiar voice of Drusilla coming from the back of the library. "Stay close to me." She whispered.

"You don't have to worry about that." Derek watched her.

Following the sound of Drusilla's voice, Candace quietly made her way to the back of the library. Derek was close behind her. He was so close that she could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck. Peeking around a bookshelf, Candace noticed Drusilla sitting on the floor with a doll in hand. She looked almost like a child playing with her toys but Candace knew better. Next to the vampire lay the book that was stolen the first day of school. "Stay here." Candace whispered to Derek as she stepped closer to Drusilla. Derek grabbed her by the arm and put his lips to her cheek. "What the hell was that for?"

"Good luck." Derek smiled because he just wanted any reason to be that close to her.

"We'll talk about this later." Candace walked over to Drusilla and grabbed the doll away from the vampire. "I really don't know what Spike or Angel ever saw in you. You're a freaking lunatic." She dropkicked the doll to the other side of the vampire.

"You made a mistake little girl." The vampire stared at the slayer, looking deep into her brown eyes.

"Who are you calling little girl?" The slayer retorted as she tried to lift her hand with the stake in it but she just couldn't. _I can't move my arm! Oh no! She's got some kind of telekinetic thing going on. Derek! What if she goes after Derek? Stay calm. You can defeat this._

"I don't want the boy yet." Drusilla moved closer to Candace. "First, I want to play with you. But, you worry more about the boy than you do your own wellbeing. Do you love him?"

"What?" Candace asked. "I just met him this week! And, what do you mean by play?" She tried to move but she was just frozen in place.

"You'll see." The vampire gave an almost sweet smile as she put her hands on the slayer's shoulders.

Candace could see Derek getting ready to make a move to stop the vampire. "Derek! Don't! She has mind control mojo going on!" Drusilla changed into her vampire form and lowered her mouth to the slayer's neck. "Derek! You need to get Andrew! Call Casey and tell her that we are in need…" Dru sunk her teeth into Candace's neck.

Derek whipped out his cell phone and frantically called Casey's cell phone but she was not picking up. "She's not picking up! What's Andrew's number?"

Candace was no longer able to speak. Dru's powers had taken control of her will to talk. Her blood was being drained and neither she nor Derek could stop it. Slipping closer to unconsciousness, her will to fight grew stronger. She was not going to die like this. Using all the strength she could muster, she opened her eyes and looked to Derek. _I am the slayer and I am strong-willed. This will not be my demise._ A smile spread across her face as she used all of her strength to overcome Drusilla's telekinesis and pushed the vampire off of her. Quickly, she reached into her left sock and pulled out the holy water. She opened the bottle and splashed it onto the vampire. With a scream of pain, Drusilla ran off, leaving her doll and book behind.

Derek ran over to the slayer. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Candace walked over to the book and picked it up. "Andrew will be glad to see…" She grabbed onto the bookshelf, feeling light-headed.

Derek came to her side and put an arm around her waist. "I don't think you're fine. She must have taken a lot of your blood."

"She doesn't need to." Candace wrapped her arms around him. "I'm anemic. I only have enough blood for myself. She must have taken…" She dropped the book. "Derek, I think I'm going to pass out now."

"No, no, you can't do that." Derek picked up the book and handed it to her. "I want you to read this. Keep yourself awake." She took the book from him and opened it. He scooped her up into his arms. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Not the hospital." Candace said softly. "I just want to go home. I hate hospitals. Andrew will know what to do."

"Fine, I'm taking you home." The boy carried her out of the school and walked into the direction of her house.

The house seemed dark except for the blaring light coming from the TV. "Good, he must be home. You still awake?" Derek asked.

"I'm hanging in here." Candace replied. "But, this book sucks. It's really boring."

"Glad to see you still have your sense of humor." Derek turned the doorknob and went inside. "Ah! My eyes! I think I'm blinded!"

On the couch, Andrew and Casey were in full make-out mode. The second they heard Derek enter, they pulled away from each other and jumped off the couch. Andrew looked over to the pair and saw the slayer, laying half unconscious in Derek's arms. "What happened?" He ran over to his charge and examined her neck.

"That crazy vampire chick attacked her." Derek explained as he laid her on the couch.

"You let the vampire go after her?" Casey glared at Derek. "Great move."

"I didn't let a vampire go after her." Derek spat. "The vampire had some mind control thing over her."

"Got the book." Candace handed it to Andrew. "It's boring." She closed her eyes.

"Hey! Wake up!" Andrew put the book on the coffee table. "You have to wake up. I have to make the potion to help restore your blood and strength but you have to stay awake."

"What do you need?" Casey asked the watcher. "I'll get it ready while you try to wake her up."

"Page 117 in the blue book on the top shelf has the list of ingredients." Andrew pointed to the bookshelf. He shook the slayer. "Come on, Candace! Wake up!" Casey went over to the bookshelf and got the book. Heading into the kitchen to get the ingredients, she looked at the list.

Derek just stood there and watched. He was scared out of his mind. But, then a thought occurred to him. He looked at Andrew. "Let me try something. I know it'll probably piss her off but it might work."

"I'm willing to try anything to keep her awake." Andrew stepped back and looked at the girl.

Derek went over to the unconscious girl on the couch and then looked at Andrew. "Uh, do you mind? I really don't want an audience."

Andrew gave him a weird look. "What exactly are you going to do?"

"You just have to trust me. I'm not going to hurt her or molest her or anything."

"Fine. If you wake her up, make sure she stays awake." Andrew gave a pout and walked into the kitchen to help Casey.

Checking to make sure no one was watching, Derek kneeled on the floor next to the couch. "I wish you were conscious to really enjoy this." He whispered as he held Candace's hand. Slowly, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Candace opened her eyes with shock. Even with her drained strength, she was able to push him away.

"What the hell are you doing?" She whispered.

"Waking you up." Derek smirked.

"Any excuse just to be close to me." She smiled slightly. "Where's Andrew?"

"In the kitchen. He and Casey are making a potion to help build up your blood and strength."

"Oh, ok." She closed her eyes again.

"Hey, you need to stay awake. Don't make me kiss you again."

Candace's eyes shot open. "Threatening me?"

"Will it keep you awake? And, I don't think it's really a threat."

"I'll stay awake if you don't kiss me anymore."

"It's a deal."

"The potion's ready." Andrew came into the room with Casey behind him. She had the potion in a beaker in her hand.

"Are you strong enough to hold the beaker yourself?" Casey asked.

Trying to sit up but not quite succeeding, Candace nodded. "Yeah, just let me get myself adjusted." She still tried to sit up but she didn't have the strength. She wouldn't admit that, though.

"Let me help you." Derek put an arm behind her back and helped her sit up.

"Thanks." Candace muttered. "Potion now please." Casey handed the potion to Derek. "I can feed myself, thank you very much."

"You can't even sit up on your own." Casey pointed out. Candace rolled her eyes.

"Just let me do something nice for you." Derek put the beaker to her mouth. She reluctantly drank the potion. "You feel any better yet?"

"It takes a few minutes to kick in." Andrew explained.

"That is the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted." Candace made a face. "And, I've eaten English food. Those Brits aren't known for their fine cuisine."

"It's true." Andrew agreed. "So, you up to talking about what happened?"

"Dru has freaking telekinetic powers!" Candace sighed. "But, we did get her book."

Casey looked at the book. "It's the same one from the other day."

"It almost seemed like she knew that we were coming." Derek said. "And, I think she could read Candace's thoughts."

Examining the book, Andrew said, "I think we may need to call for back up."

"You thinking Spike and Amber?" The slayer asked.

"Spike and Amber." Andrew nodded. "I'll go call them." He ran into the kitchen and grabbed the phone.

"I'll go make some tea." Casey said, just wanting to be near Andrew.

"Ok, tea." Candace shrugged. "We're not British, you know. But, tea might be good."

Casey smiled and went into the kitchen to make tea.

Candace moved over on the couch and patted the cushion next to her for Derek to sit. He took the seat next to her. "You… I told you not to play the hero and what did you do? You played the hero." Derek was about to say something when she hugged him. "Thanks for saving me. But, next time, don't kiss me."

"I'll try to remember that." Derek shrugged. "So, who are Spike and Amber?"

"Spike is a vampire…. with a soul though." Candace began. "He used to date Dru. Actually, she's the one who turned him. He should know how to get into her mind better than anyone. Amber is Spike's current girlfriend. She's like a paranormal expert or something. She'll be able to tell us more about Dru's telekinetic powers and where they came from." Derek just watched her. He loved it when she explained things. "I'm pretty sure they'd get married if Spike wasn't a vampire. They're really serious. No one ever thought Spike would get over Buffy but Amber's been good for him." _I'm rambling! What the hell? I do not like Derek like that!_

"So these people will be able to help with the crazy vampire girl problem." Derek nodded. "You've got your strength back yet?"

"I'm not sure." Candace thought. "Let me punch you to see." She teased.

Andrew came into the room with a marker in his hand. "They'll be here tomorrow." He told Candace. He started writing things down on the "big board".

"Hey, Andrew, I know I was only semi-conscious when Derek brought me in here but I could swear I saw you and Casey making out on this couch." Candace blurted out just as Casey came into the room with tea. Andrew dropped the marker and Casey almost dropped the tea. They both turned bright red. "I'm glad you two are dating or whatever but please never make out in front of me again. There are some things I just don't need to see."

"Same here." Derek nodded. "You know how I feel about P.D.A."

"We were not in public." Casey retorted as she put the tea down on the coffee table.

"Well, just don't do it in front of me." Derek looked at his step-sister.

Casey shook her head and sat next to him. "After we finish the tea we should probably get home. Your grandmother must be going crazy trying to handle Marti, Lizzie and Edwin."

"You can go." Derek said. "But, I'm going to stay and make sure Candace will be ok."

"I'm fine." Candace punched him in the arm. "See?"

"Why'd you do that?" Derek rubbed his arm. "It hurt."

Casey laughed. "This is why we get along so well. You're like the only girl other than me who tries to put Derek in his place."

"And, I can succeed because I'm stronger than him." Candace grinned.

Andrew finished with the "big board" and grabbed his cup of tea. "You know you can only use your strength against the forces of darkness."

"This is a force of darkness." Casey pointed at Derek. The two girls laughed.

Eventually, Derek and Casey finished their tea. Actually, Derek took two sips, made a face and then didn't drink any more. After everyone said their good-byes, Derek and Casey went home even though Casey had to practically drag Derek away. Candace went to bed around midnight. She was really excited that Spike and Amber would be coming. Andrew stayed up a little while to do some research and then eventually went to bed.

Casey headed up to her room as soon as she got home. She tried to get so sleep but she just couldn't stop thinking about her great date with Andrew. She really liked this guy. Finally, she fell asleep at about two in the morning. Derek sat on his bed thinking about his feelings for Candace. His thoughts usually consisted of numerous girls but he couldn't bring himself to think about anyone else. He was the one that told her he would get under her skin and into her head but she was the one getting under his skin and into his head. Sleep didn't come easy that night and when he finally did fall asleep, he kept dreaming about kissing her again. This time though, she was conscious and kissing him back.


	6. The Fellowship?

**Sunday evening**

"Why hasn't Smerek come out of his room today?" A small girl asked Casey. It was her step-sister, Marti.

Casey was getting ready to go meet Candace and Andrew's friends. "He had a rough night last night." She explained.

"Can I go get him out of his room?" Marti asked.

"Well, if he's coming with me then he better come out of there soon." Casey shook her head.

"Does this have anything to do with that new friend of yours?" Casey's step-father, George asked as he passed by the two girls.

"Possibly." Casey smiled. "I think he really likes her but she's one of the only girls that he's met that's immune to his charm."

"Smerek!" Marti ran up the stairs and into Derek's room. "Do you like Casey's new friend?"

"You mean, the hot one that was here the other night?" Edwin asked as he walked by. "He has it bad for her."

"Get out!" Derek sighed. His hair was messed up and his clothes were wrinkled.

"Casey says if you're going with her then you better hurry up, Smerek." Marti pointed out as she ran out of his room and downstairs.

"Right." Derek ran a comb through his hair and changed into some less wrinkled clothes. He went downstairs and looked at Casey. "Don't start with me today. I'm not in the mood."

"I wasn't going to say anything to you." Casey walked out the door. "Bye mom! Bye George! I'll be home later." Derek followed.

At the moment, Candace was home alone. Andrew had gone out to get Spike and Amber from the airport. Apparently, he thought that Candace should dress up for the occasion which she disagreed with. She decided to meet him half way just to avoid arguments. She put on her white dress with blue trim and flowers. On her feet, was a pair of blue sandals. She pulled her hair half up with a barrette. She studied herself in the mirror on the back of her bedroom door. "I hate dresses." She sighed as the doorbell rang. "Great, now I have to deal with the constant stares coming from Derek." Running down the stairs, she opened the door and standing there were Casey and Derek. "Hey, guys, come on in."

"Cute outfit." Casey went inside.

"I hate it. Andrew thought I should dress up because we're having company from out of town." Candace made a face.

Derek just stared at the slayer. "Hey." He went inside and sat on the couch.

"What's with you, cranky much?" The slayer studied him.

"He's been like this all day." Casey informed. "He didn't come out of his room until just now."

"Are you traumatized after what happened last night?" Candace sat next to the boy. She shifted around uncomfortably. "Freaking dress." She muttered.

Derek watched her. "I'm not traumatized. I just didn't sleep well last night."

"Bad dreams?" Candace asked.

"No, good ones, actually." Derek shrugged.

"We're here!" Andrew called as he opened the front door and walked in. Behind him were Spike and Amber.

Spike was a tall and handsome vampire. His blonde hair was slicked back. He was adorned in black from head to toe. Amber was a pretty young woman of about twenty. She had long, blonde curly hair.

Candace stood up. "Hey Amber." She ran over and hugged her friend. "Hey, Spike." She nodded towards the vampire. "These are my friends. This is Casey and that's Derek."

"Nice to meet you." Amber said to the step-siblings.

"You too." Casey shook Amber's hand and then Spike's.

Derek stood up and sized up Spike. Suddenly, he was feeling very protective of Candace. It was possibly because he knew that Spike was a vampire and he used to be evil. "So, you're the one that used to date the psycho that almost killed Candace?"

"Derek!" Casey hissed.

"She did not almost kill me!" Candace smacked him on the back of the head.

"Oh, I hope we all end up like the Fellowship." Andrew randomly said probably just trying to keep tension at a minimum.

"You'll do best to watch your tongue with me, boy." Spike glared at Derek as he took a seat on the couch.

"What are you going to do about it if I don't?" Derek crossed his arms over his chest.

"I could tear your heart out." Spike said nonchalantly.

"Spike, don't make matters worse." Amber sat next to her boyfriend.

"Yeah, you already made things bad by dating the psycho." Derek said to the vampire.

"She's the one that turned me." Spike looked at him.

"Derek, I need you to help me find something in my room." Candace grabbed the boy by his arm.

"I thought we established a rule about boys being alone with you in your room." Andrew butted in.

"Andrew, I know what I'm doing and it has nothing to do with making out with him." Candace looked at her watcher. He had no choice but to let her have her way.

Candace and Derek headed up to her room. She shut the door behind them and pushed him down onto her bed. "I thought you told Andrew you weren't going to make out with me." Derek grinned. "Are you just going to skip the making out part?"

Candace rolled her eyes. "You need to not say anything to Spike. He knows what's up when it comes to Dru. And, he could kill you in an instant."

"I just don't trust the guy." Derek pointed out, "He used to be evil. How do you know he won't become evil again?"

"Because, there are limited ways in which an en-souled vampire can lose his soul." She explained. "There's a spell and the whole moment of true happiness thing. No one in their right mind would do that spell and Amber is too smart to just have sex with him when she knows it would just make him lose his soul."

"So, that's why he's so pissed off." He nodded. "He needs to get some…"

Candace put her hand over his mouth. "Don't finish that sentence. He's not the only one that's dangerous, you know. One day I may snap and decide to be evil and I could so take over the world. And, Andrew, he used to be evil too. Well, he tried to be evil. It didn't quite pan out the way he wanted it to."

Derek pushed her hand away. "Andrew's too meek to be evil. And, you're too determined to save the world to take it over. Spike's a vampire."

"He has a soul." She opened the door. "Get over it and please just try to be nice."

"Candace!" Andrew called up the stairs. "Could you bring down the 'big board'?"

"Derek, help me with the 'big board'." Candace instructed as she walked across the hall to Andrew's room. Derek followed her. They each grabbed an end of the "big board" and brought it downstairs.

"I can't believe you still have that stupid thing." Spike rolled his eyes at the sight of the "big board".

"Amber was just telling us that Dru could have gotten her telekinetic powers from voodoo." Andrew told Candace.

"Yeah, voodoo can be found anywhere and it's very possible that Dru got her powers from a voodoo incantation." Amber explained. "Which means they can be taken away."

Candace shoved a marker into Derek's hand. "Write that down on the board."

"No, wait." Casey took the marker from Derek. "I'll do it. He has terrible handwriting."

Derek rolled his eyes and sat in a recliner. The rest of the night went on with everyone jumping in with possible explanations behind what was going on. When they all realized that the "big board" was filled up, they decided to retire for the night. Their next meeting would be after school the next day in the library. After walking Casey and Derek home, Candace went on a mini-patrol but came up empty-handed. Amber and Spike went to bed in the guest room. Andrew went to bed after reading a bit from the book Dru had stolen and Candace went to bed in a state of confusion about her feelings for Derek.


	7. I Hate Mondays

A/N: There is major character death in this chapter but it will be explained later. Also, there is a mention of self mutilation so be forwarned.

* * *

**Monday**

"So, this is the little freak that's been hanging around my Derry?" Candace was at her locker when she heard a female voice behind her.

"Uh, who are you?" She questioned the blonde girl as she turned around.

"I'm Kendra, Derek's ex-girlfriend."

"And, you're talking to me because?"

"I'm just telling you that I plan on getting back together with him and you better stay away from him or I'll rip your eyes out." The blonde flipped her hair as she walked off.

"And yet I'm still not afraid of you." Candace said to herself.

"Hey, what was that all about?" Emily asked as she walked up to Candace.

"Apparently that's Derek's ex-girlfriend." The slayer shrugged.

"Yeah, I know that." Emily nodded. "What was she talking to you about?"

"She told me to stay away from him because she wants to get back together with him and if I don't stay away from him then she'll rip my eyes out." Candace said nonchalantly.

"And, I thought she hated me." Emily looked at the other girl. "But, I guess since I have Sheldon now, she doesn't see me as a threat. You on the other hand are the newest object of Derek's desire and that's an obstacle for her."

"Let's not talk about Derek and desire and all that stuff." Candace closed her locker. "Are you busy after school?"

"No, why?" Emily questioned. "You want to go shopping or something?"

"Could you just meet me in the library?" Candace asked as they started down the hall.

"Ok, can I bring Sheldon?"

"Only if you think he can keep a really big secret."

"I'll make sure he doesn't tell anyone." Emily nodded and stopped outside her first class. "Well, I should probably go in there even though it is a bit early. I have to meet up with my project partner to go over some details."

"Alright. I'll see you later." Candace waved at Emily as she went into the classroom to meet her partner. "And, I'll go deal with my English project partner."

"Where are you going, freak?" It was Kendra once again.

"What are you doing?" Candace asked. "Stalk me much?"

"If you even think of going near Derek…"

"You'll do what?" Candace looked at her. "I'm not afraid of you. And, I'm sorry but if Derek wanted you back then he probably wouldn't have dumped your sorry ass in the first place. I'm not even dating the guy! We're just friends… sometimes!" She stormed off and headed to the library. "What the hell is it with psycho chicks wanting to inflict pain on me in this school?" She looked over and saw Casey and Andrew smooching behind the circulation desk. "Argh!" She walked out of the library. "I hate people!"

"We're not all bad, are we?" Came the familiar voice of Derek from behind her.

"You!" She turned around and glared at him. "You are the biggest hypocrite I have ever met!"

"What did I do now?"

"You got all pissed off when you found out that Spike used to date Dru since she's a psycho. But, your psycho ex-girlfriend, I think her name is Kendra, is now threatening to rip my eyes out because she wants to get back together with you and she knows that we're friends… sort of!" Candace took a deep breath. Her Boston accent was thick. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kendra walking towards them. "I don't usually do stuff like this but I think it's time for me to play the vindictive little bitch in this story." She pushed Derek up against the wall and just as she was about to kiss him, Andrew came fumbling out of the library.

After staring at the two for a minute, Andrew grabbed both of them by the arm. "I need you and you to come with me." He took them into the library.

"Andrew! I was just about to make a statement!" Candace pouted.

"Well, I'm sure your statement is important and all but Andrew just got a phone call from Amber with some important news." Casey pointed out.

"It was a really important statement!" Derek whined. "Not that I usually go for that kind of thing but beggars can't be choosers."

"What are you talking about?" Casey asked. "Wait, I probably don't want to know."

"Amber did some research on the book you got from Dru." Andrew explained. "It is a book of spells on how to open the Hellmouth. In the spell that we're pretty sure Dru is going to use, the blood of the slayer and her closest male friend is needed. So, I'm guessing that you are her closest male friend." He pointed to Derek.

"Yeah, we're super close." Candace sighed as she plopped down in a chair. "Not as close as you and Casey though. You two might want to reconsider the whole making out on school property thing. People might find it weird that the new librarian is getting all smoochy with one of the students behind the circulation desk. And, I told you two not to do that in front of me!"

Derek put up his hand. "Can I leave? Being in the library before school starts is going to do major damage to my rep."

"Dude, your rep should be the least of your worries." Candace pointed out. "Dru's out for your blood and mine. Well, most evil things are out for my blood."

"Which is why you have to stay with him at all possible times." Andrew told the slayer.

"I feel for you." Casey took the seat next to her.

"Hey!" Derek glared at her.

"Great." Candace looked at Derek. "But, if he misbehaves in any way I might be tempted to just feed him to Dru. Not that I would because that would be wrong." She rolled her eyes. The bell rang to get to class. Candace stood up and grabbed Derek by the hand, prepared to run into Kendra again. The girl hated her for being friends with Derek. She wanted to see if she would actually do anything. "I'm still mad at you." She told him.

"Then why are you holding my hand?" He grinned as they walked out of the library.

"I hate Mondays." She replied. "Your ex made me hate them even more and now I want to piss her off."

After giving Andrew a quick peck on the cheek, Casey ran to catch up with them. "Why are you two holding hands? Please don't tell me that you've fallen for him."

"Hardly." Candace spat. "His crazy ex wants my eyes because she wants to get back together with him. I just want to see if she's all talk or if she'll actually do anything."

"That doesn't sound very nice." Casey said.

"I know!" Candace sighed. "She's such a beeyotch!"

"I wasn't talking about her." The other girl walked into her classroom.

"Don't listen to her." Derek shook his head. "I think you should do whatever you want to get back at Kendra."

Candace let go of his hand. "Casey's right." She walked into their English class. Derek followed her and they took their seats. Mr. Cunningham started to take attendance. After he was finished he announced that they would be working on their interview projects the entire class. "Yay." Candace sighed sarcastically as she opened up her notebook and pushed her desk next to Derek's. "I'm still…" She began but suddenly started to feel light-headed. Soon the room was spinning. Looking over at her friend, she noticed that he had his head in his hands. Then, the spinning stopped. Both she and Derek looked at each other. "You felt that too, right?" She asked him.

"What happened?" He looked around the room. "Where did everyone go?"

"This place looks so abandoned." She stood up. "What am I wearing? I was so not wearing this when I sat down in English class. And, where'd my shoes go?" She looked at her feet. She was barefoot and was wearing a flowing lilac gown. "No way! This is the same dress I was wearing in my dream. You know the one where Dru killed you?"

"Personally, I like your new look." Derek smirked as he looked her up and down.

"This is not the time to be complimenting me on my new look." She ran a hand through her hair. "We've got major problems here. And, you're wearing the same thing you were wearing in my dream." She started pacing back and forth. This was new territory for her. Rooms did not usually spin until everyone in them was gone.

"Get yourself together." He stepped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Because when it comes to this stuff I'm clueless."

"Derek!" She stared at him. "You are so not helping with my anxiety!" There came a scream from the library and it sounded an awful lot like Casey. Without hesitation, Candace smashed the teacher's desk next to her into a bunch of little pieces and took one of the legs to use as a stake. Grabbing Derek by the hand, she ran out of the classroom and towards the library. Crashing through the library doors, the two teenagers stood in shock at what lay before them.

It was a massacre. The lifeless bodies of Andrew, Casey, Amber, Emily and Sheldon lay on the library floor. Standing in the middle of the massacre were two vampires. Drusilla and Spike were together once again.

"Looks like our main course has arrived, pet." Spike purred in Dru's ear.

"I knew it!" Was all Derek could manage to say.

"The blood of the slayer and her lover. That's what will open the Hellmouth." Dru smiled wickedly.

Normally, Candace would have spat some words at Dru about Derek not being her lover but she was in a state of shock. All she wanted to do was cry over the loss of her friends.

"What's the matter, slayer?" Spike smirked. "You look like you're about to cry."

"They were almost as easy to kill as your parents." Dru stepped closer to the girl. "But, I decided not to turn them like I did your parents."

Anger boiled up inside her like never before. "You turned my parents." She glared.

"That must have been such an awful event for you." Spike took a step closer. "Is that why you cut yourself every day for two and a half years? If you were to survive this then I bet you would cut yourself again every day for the rest of your miserable life. But, you don't have to worry about that because you won't survive."

"I knew we couldn't trust you!" Derek let go of Candace's hand and stepped closer to the vampires.

"Derek! Don't do anything stupid!" Candace lifted up the stake. "I will kill them. I want to kill them."

"Don't be silly, little girl." A glint of evil was present in Dru's eyes. "You can't kill us if you can't move."

"I will not let them get away with this." Derek tried to move closer to the vampires some more but he was unable to move. "I can't move!"

Going over to the table in the center of the library, Spike picked up a set of chains. He dragged Derek over to the circulation desk and chained him up.

"Leave him alone!" Candace tried to run to her friend's aid but Dru was working her magic.

"Dru's only going to drain him until he's almost dead." Spike laughed. "Then, I'll drain you until you're almost dead. And, then, we're taking you two lovebirds down here." Spike lifted up a throw rug and then opened up a hatch. "That's where the opening to the Hellmouth lies."

"That's it! That's how you've been getting in here during the day!" Candace kept struggling to move.

"You're a smart one." Spike rolled his eyes. "There are tunnels under there that lead to practically everywhere in this town."

"Candace!" Derek whimpered. "What are we going to do?! You've got to overcome this and stop them!"

"Enough chatter now." Dru waved a hand as she stood in front of Derek. "Such a sweet boy. I see why you love him so much." Changing into vampire face, she lowered her mouth to his neck and started to drain his blood.

"I love the taste of slayer's blood." Spike took the stake from Candace's hand. As he changed into his vampire face, he lowered his mouth to the slayer's neck. Draining more and more blood, eventually both Candace and Derek slipped into unconsciousness.

Slowly coming to, Candace noticed that both she and Derek were now chained to the pipes in what seemed to be the basement of the school. In front of them were Drusilla and Spike standing at the edge of the opening to the Hellmouth and chanting words in another language. Realizing that the world was doomed, a tear fell from Candace's eye. She had failed as the slayer. Her family was dead. Her friends were dead and soon the whole world would be taken over by the forces of darkness. Suddenly, the room was spinning once again and she began to feel light-headed. She figured that this was what it was like when you die. Derek groaned as he too felt the room spinning and very light-headed. The teenagers closed their eyes.


	8. Is This Death?

A/N: Just to warn that there is more mention of self mutilation.

* * *

They were falling. Was this death? Suddenly, a thud as Derek hit the library floor. Two seconds later, Candace landed on top of him. They were not dead after all. "Derek! You're not dead! I'm not dead!" She grinned widely as she stood up. Putting her hand out, she helped him up.

"What happened?" Derek rubbed his head. "Is everyone else still alive?"

"I don't know." She pulled him into a hug. "But, there aren't any bodies sprawled all over the floor so that has to be a good sign." He hugged her back and she tightened her grip around his torso.

"If you don't stop hugging him like that then he won't be alive much longer. You always forget about your strength." Andrew said as he came out of his office with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Andrew!" Candace let go of Derek and ran to her watcher, giving him a big hug. "You're alive!"

"We're all alive here." Amber said as she and Casey came out of the back of the library.

"Sheldon and Emily?" Candace asked.

"They're at lunch right now." Casey replied.

"What happened?" Derek looked around the room as Candace let go of her watcher.

"I did a spell!" Casey beamed, proud of herself. "Well, I helped Amber do a spell."

"They did a spell to take a look into the future and see what would happen if Dru is successful with her plan." Andrew explained.

"But, we needed our key players to be there." Amber pointed out. "And that would be the two of you so we fast-forwarded your bodies into the future. It's all very complicated."

"How far into the future did we go?" Derek asked.

"About two months." Casey replied.

"You mean I have to wait two months for Candace to…" He began but Candace quickly shut him up with a jab to the ribs. "… figure out how to deal with Dru."

"I guess so." Amber nodded. "It usually takes time to open up a Hellmouth anyway."

"Doing all of that magic made me hungry." Casey picked up her purse. "I'm going to get something to eat before lunch is over. Anyone care to join me?" She walked over to the library doors.

"Actually, the rest of us need to stay here and discuss what happened with Candace and Derek." Andrew explained.

"Ok, I'll see you guys later on then." She blew a kiss to Andrew as she left.

"There goes my appetite for the next week." Derek made a face and took a seat at the table.

"Why didn't you guys tell us about the spell?" Candace took the seat next to Derek.

"We had to see what you would do naturally." Andrew sat across from Derek with a notebook and pen.

Taking the seat next to the watcher and across from the slayer, Amber said, "Tell us everything that happened in detail."

"Well…" Candace started. She then went on to describe the event in detail. The only thing she left out was the mention of Derek being her lover. When she got to the part about Spike, she gave Amber an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry. I hope that doesn't happen." After an explanation that seemed like it took forever, Candace let out a sigh of relief. "That was one of the most traumatic things that has ever happened to me. And, it hasn't even happened yet!"

"That must have been a harrowing experience for you guys." Amber looked at the teenagers. "I'm sorry I had to put you through that without telling you first. But, maybe Andrew can get you two excused from the rest of your classes today."

"I think I can do that." Andrew nodded. "I'll inform all of your teachers that you will be helping me in the library and I will collect the work you are going to miss from them." He stood up and grabbed the copies of their schedules he had on his desk. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He rushed out of the library.

Derek yawned and stood up. "I'm kind of hungry. I think I'll go grab some chow while I still can. You ladies want anything?"

"Could you just get me a can of soda?" Amber pulled some money out of her pocket and handed it to him.

"Sure." He took the money. "And, for you, my lover?" He winked at Candace.

"Just get me some chips and a soda." Candace glared at him as he put his hand out for money. "Could you please pay for it?" She softened her glare into an innocent looking face.

"Fine." He sighed as he headed out of the library. "But, I'm only paying because you look exceptionally hot today." He called out behind him.

"What was that all about?" Amber asked. "Are you dating him?"

"No!" Candace leaned back in her chair.

"Do you want to date him? He certainly seems like he wants to date you."

"Please promise me you won't repeat what I'm about to tell you."

"You know I wouldn't tell anyone any secrets you told me." Amber looked into the slayer's brown eyes.

"Well, there's a part I left out about our visit to the future." The slayer began. "I didn't mention it because Andrew was here and he gets all weird around stuff like that. You know how he is."

"Uh hmm." The other girl nodded. "So are you going to tell me?"

"Spike and Dru kept referring to Derek and me as lovers."

"So you two are probably going to start dating eventually."

"I don't know what I want to do with him. He's so cocky and arrogant and he just gets under my skin sometimes. But, there are other times when he's a really nice guy. And, well, don't tell him this but I do think he's pretty hot." Candace sighed. "But, I've only known him for a week. However, I have already almost kissed him three times."

Amber smiled. "How do you almost kiss someone three times?"

"I lead a very complicated life." Candace shook her head. She went on to described what happened to Amber. "As you can see, things between us are very strange. But, for some reason I feel a bond with him."

"Hello ladies." Derek announced as he came back with their food and drinks. "Gossiping about me?"

"No!" Candace grabbed her soda and chips from him. "You need to pull your head out of your…"

"Hey, you should be nice to me." Derek sat next to her. "I bought you chips and soda and I am losing points off my rep by hanging out with you in the library." He took some of her chips and shoved them into his mouth.

"See what I mean." Candace looked at Amber.

"Oh, I ran into Kendra." Derek said taking a sip of her soda. "I kind of told her that you're my girlfriend now."

"You did what? As if my day hasn't sucked enough you went and told that crazy ex of yours that I'm your girlfriend and I'm not!" She grabbed her soda from him.

Amber watched in amusement. They kind of reminded her of her and Spike when they first met.

"Got ya!" Derek laughed. "You should have seen the look on your face." He took another sip of soda.

"That is so not funny." Candace hit him in the stomach.

"Everything is all squared away with your teachers." Andrew came into the library with stacks of papers. "I've got all of your work right here." He walked over to the table and in the process tripped over the throw rug on the floor.

"You're perfect for Casey." Derek laughed. "She's such a Klutzilla."

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Candace jumped out of her seat. "That's how the vampires can get into the library during the day!"

"By tripping over a rug?" Amber asked.

"No, under the rug." Candace explained. "There's a hatch that leads to the basement. And, that's where the opening to the Hellmouth is. And, there are tunnels that lead every where in town under there."

"I guess you know where you'll be going after school." Andrew told her as he picked up the papers and set them on the table.

"Are you going to make me go there alone?" She asked. "Because there could be spiders down there and they give me the creeps."

"I'll go!" Derek looked up. "Spiders don't scare me."

"That might not be such a good idea." Andrew pointed out.

"Let the boy go, Andrew." Amber said. "Candace can take the free time that she now has to train him a little bit."

Candace shot a look over at Amber. Then images of her beating on Derek played through her head and she smiled. "Sounds like a plan." She cracked her knuckles. She ran over to the weapons cabinet and opened it up.

Andrew stepped between her and the cabinet. Picking up two quarterstaffs, he handed them to her. "You can only train with these."

"Andrew, you are such a buzz kill." She whined.

"Just think of yourself as being Gandalf and that is your magical staff." He told her.

"She looks more like Frodo." Derek teased.

"Shut up… Gollum!" Candace grabbed the staffs from Andrew and threw one to Derek.

"What have I done?" Andrew shook his head.

"I think you just set up the next major sporting event to sweep the world." Amber laughed.

"Where is my precious?" Derek asked in a voice that sounded similar to Gollum's.

"You do know that Frodo wins the battle, right?" Candace grinned. "Gollum dies and Frodo manages to escape with just a missing finger." She took a fighting stance.

"Hey, there will be no training in this part of the library!" Andrew pointed out. "There's a storage room in the back that has things of little importance in it. You should re-enact Lord of the Rings there."

"That's where we did the spell." Amber got up and showed the two teenagers the way to the storage room. It was rather large for a storage room. "Here you go. I've got to go wake Spike up anyway. And, I'm sure Andrew has some research to do."

"I'm going to have so much fun with this." Candace smiled. "Tell Spike I said hi." She stepped into the room, followed by Derek who said nothing about Spike.

"I will." Amber closed the door and headed out to see Spike.

Andrew went about with some research and waved to Amber as she left.

Candace took her fighting stance on one side of the room. Derek took his stance, holding the staff like a hockey stick. The slayer shook her head and rolled her eyes. "This is not a hockey game. You should hold the staff like this." She showed him the way she was holding her staff.

"Nah, I'm good like this." He shrugged. "Who do you think starts all the fights at our hockey games?"

"Fine." She looked at him. "But, don't whine to me when I whip your butt."

"I didn't know there would be whips involved." He grinned.

"Just shut up and fight."

"All right." Derek smirked as he moved closer to the slayer.

Candace took her defensive stance, waiting for him to attack. When he did attack, he did it in a way that caught her off guard. Using his staff like a hockey stick, he knocked her staff out of her hands. After giving him a look of shock, she shook it off. "I don't need that anyway." She kicked his staff out of his hands.

"I don't need that anyway." He mimicked her. "I know how to fight." He ran at the slayer, taking her by surprise and knocking her to the floor. However, every slayer knows that if you are going down then you take the enemy with you. At the moment, Derek was her enemy. She grabbed his hand as she went down and he landed on top of her. "You do realize that you just made yourself more vulnerable?" He asked.

"Hey, who's giving the instructions here?" Using her slayer strength, she rolled them over so that she was on top and now had the advantage. "This would be the moment when one would pull out their stake and thrust it through the vampire's heart. But, since you're not a vampire I don't have to worry about that."

As she was about to get up, he grabbed her hand. "How come you never told me about this before?" He asked, referring to the light scars on her arm. They were not very obvious because of her ability to heal fast.

She looked away. "It's a time in my life that I would like to forget." She pulled her hand away and stood up. He stood up as well. "And, this is not the time to be discussing such things. I need to teach you how to defend yourself against evil." She changed the subject.

Derek stepped in front of her. "If you ever need to talk about anything like that then I'm here." There it was. His sweet side was coming through again.

_Why can't he be like this all the time?_ Candace thought. "I'm not depressed at the moment. So, let's just continue with the training."

"I'm just saying, that's all." He looked into her eyes.

Closing her eyes, she sighed. "If I ever get depressed, I'll go to you. I don't know why but I just feel like I can tell you anything. I've never felt like this before with someone I've just met. Usually, I can't trust people. But, I trust you and Casey. I even trust Emily and Sheldon. I think I may have true friends in you guys. My only true friends have been other slayers and watchers and the council. Sure I had friends in my other school but not like you guys. I don't know why I'm telling you this." She hugged him. _Yes, I do! I like you a lot! But, I can't tell you that right now._

Derek hugged her back, kissing the top of her head. _What is this girl doing to me? I'm turning into a big sap over this one girl. But, I actually like it._

"Derry!" The door opened and Kendra stood there. "What are you doing?"


	9. Girls

A/N: This isn't a terribly long chapter but I had fun with it. I loved writing Derek's thoughts! I hope they make everyone else laugh the way I laughed when I was writing them.

* * *

**Just a quick recap from the last chapter:**

Closing her eyes, she sighed. "If I ever get depressed, I'll go to you. I don't know why but I just feel like I can tell you anything. I've never felt like this before with someone I've just met. Usually, I can't trust people. But, I trust you and Casey. I even trust Emily and Sheldon. I think I may have true friends in you guys. My only true friends have been other slayers and watchers and the council. Sure I had friends in my other school but not like you guys. I don't know why I'm telling you this." She hugged him. _Yes, I do! I like you a lot! But, I can't tell you that right now._

Derek hugged her back, kissing the top of her head. _What is this girl doing to me? I'm turning into a big sap over this one girl. But, I actually like it._

"Derry!" The door opened and Kendra stood there. "What are you doing?"

* * *

"Hey, you can't go in there!" Andrew called as he bustled after her.

Candace stifled a laugh as she turned around to face Kendra. "You're a freaking stalker!"

"You're going to regret that, freak!" Kendra spat stepping closer to the slayer.

"What are you going to do about it?" The shorter girl narrowed her eyes at the other girl.

"I told you I would rip your eyes out." Both girls lunged forward at one another. Andrew quickly came up behind Kendra and grabbed her arm pulling her out of the room. However, Candace followed them.

Derek stood there for a moment. _Chick fight! Yes! And, I think it's over me! This is so cool! Gotta follow them._ He followed the girls and Andrew._ Should I hold Candace back? She could take Kendra down. She could take me down, too. But, if I hold her back then I get to touch her. There may be a moment. She might thank me for preventing her from doing something stupid. Maybe she'll kiss me. That's all the reasoning I need. Time to stop the chick fight. _

Kendra slipped out of Andrew's grip just as Derek wrapped his arms around Candace. "Get her into the back room!" Andrew called as he reached for Kendra's wrist again. With a nod, Derek lifted the slayer up and carried her into the storage room, closing the door behind them. Finally, getting a grip on Kendra, Andrew escorted her out of the library.

Setting the slayer down on her feet, Derek locked the door behind them. "I can't let you go out there. You know that, right?"

"Come on!" Candace whined. "Just let me hit her once! She is so getting on my last nerve!"

"You're stronger than other girls." He reminded her. "You could do some serious damage." _Since when did I become the voice of reason?_

Closing the library doors and locking them, Andrew hurried back into the library. "Is everything ok in there?" He called into the back room.

"It will be as soon as I get out of here and punch Kendra's face in!" Candace called back.

"I should keep her in here until she cools off?" Derek called to the watcher.

"Yeah, just be careful…" Andrew said. "She can be manipulative when she wants something bad enough and uh, don't do anything to make her hit you." He went back to his research. He would never admit it to another guy but he was afraid of his slayer when she got angry.

"No one can manipulate people better than I can." Derek watched the slayer.

"Ah, but I know your weakness." Candace grinned slyly.

"You may think you know my weakness but you…" He started but was distracted by every move she made towards him. "What… are you doing?"

"Girls." She unzipped her green track jacket, revealing the black spaghetti-strap tank top she had on underneath. "That's your weakness." Dropping the jacket to the floor she started to fan herself with her hand. "It's warm in here, don't you think?"

Ignoring the last question, he diverted his eyes to the floor. _Can't look at her. She is just trying to manipulate you into letting her out of here. But, damn! She is so hot! Don't look! Maybe, I could distract her long enough that she'll forget all about Kendra. How could I distract her? Think, Derek, think! How do you usually distract people? Usually I distract girls by kissing them. I couldn't do that because if she doesn't want it then she could dropkick me into the next century. _By the time he had finished his thought process, he realized that she was now standing only about an inch in front of him. He backed up until his back was against the door. "Are you going to hurt me?"

"The thought has crossed my mind many times." Candace smiled innocently. "But, I could never hurt someone as hot as you." If she were to get any closer to him now she would be standing on his feet.

Derek bit his lip as he stared at her. _I want to touch her. She is so close. _"I knew you thought I was hot." He couldn't control himself, he had to touch her! Quickly, he wrapped his arms around her waist.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and using her slayer strength, she turned them around so that she was now the one with her back against the door. Standing on her tip toes, she whispered into his ear, "I will get under your skin and in your mind and you won't be able to resist." She heard a crash come from the library and her eyes widened. Without hesitation, she kicked the door open with her foot and spun around just in time to see Drusilla standing over Andrew's unconscious body.


	10. You Should

Instantly, Candace's eyes went to Andrew's neck. There were no holes. Then she looked at Dru who was holding one of Andrew's books in her hand. She had hit him in the head with it. "Oops, I hit the watcher in the head and knocked him out." Dru said in an innocent voice. "Should I turn him just like I turned your parents, slayer?" She turned around and looked at Candace and Derek.

"Wrong day to start with me." Candace's eyes grew darker and her pupils were hardly visible. "Get away from him, now!"

"Yes, I will." Dru said unexpectedly.

"Huh?" Derek and Candace asked at the same time, dumbfounded.

The vampire stepped away from the watcher. "Try telling her to do something else." Derek urged.

"Drop the book." Candace watched as Dru dropped the book to the floor. It landed with a thud.

"You should tell her to stake herself." Derek said.

"I don't know what's going on." Candace told him. "I don't want anything to backfire. It's best not to mess with things that we're unsure of."

"But, then your problems would be gone."

"My problems are never gone and hey, I'm the boss here!" She scowled. "Leave." She instructed Dru. The vampire nodded and ran off through the hatch in the floor.

"What just happened?" Derek questioned.

"Don't know." Candace went over to Andrew and shook him until he opened his eyes. "Hey, you alright?"

"What… how?" Andrew sputtered.

"Dru, she hit you in the head with a book." Candace explained.

"And, then you fought her off?" Andrew sat up.

"No." Derek replied.

"You didn't fight her, did you?" Andrew looked at the boy.

Candace laughed. "He couldn't fight her off unless he had a hockey stick in his hand." She helped the watcher to his feet. "Dru kinda just did what I told her to do. It was freaky."

"It's a spell." Andrew pointed out. "Amber must have figured out how to transfer that power from Dru to you. That's what we have been working on."

"How long will it last?" She questioned.

"Until someone reverses it." The watcher replied. "I think I need to lie down in the nurse's office for awhile. Can you two hold down the fort while I'm gone?" He walked over to the exit.

"Yeah, sure." Candace shrugged. "I can fight evil so I think I can handle library duty."

"Ok, good." Andrew looked at her. "And, don't use that power for silly things. Oh, and if Casey comes back, tell her to come see me."

"Yep, got it." Candace waved to her watcher as he left. A sly smile crept across her face as she turned to Derek.

"I think I should be getting back to class." He looked around nervously.

"I think you should stay here." The slayer shrugged.

"Yeah, I should." He put his hand over his mouth. "Can you read my mind?"

"Maybe." She smiled. "Maybe not. Suddenly, I'm feeling really good about myself." She did a back flip just to show how she was feeling.

Derek watched her. _She is so hot! Wait! She may know what I'm thinking. Can't think about her like that._ "So, we're like the bosses of the library right now."

"No, I'm the boss of the library." She watched him. "I've got the slayer powers and added bonus powers. Lock the doors."

Doing as he was told, Derek went over to the doors and locked them. "Why did you have me do that?" _Is it so we can have some private time? I would love to make out with you. _

"Andrew has a CD player in here!" Candace ran over to the CD player and put it on. "Let's party in the library!" Loud, fast, rock music blared out of the speakers. "Andrew only buys slayer approved music and that was before I could make him do what I wanted with just words and thoughts."

"You're emotionally all over the place." Derek pointed out.

"If you were me, you'd be the same way." She leaned against the wall and nodded her head to the music.

He stared at her. "That's how you party? Kinda lame if you ask me. You're supposed to dance at parties."

"I don't dance." She shot a look at him. "I mosh. But that's only at concerts or on the couch at home as you already knew."

"Well, you should dance." He started dancing towards her. There was a slight sparkle in his eyes.

"Yeah, I should." She started dancing.

"See, it's not that bad."

_I don't want to dance! What am I doing?_ Candace watched him as they danced around in a circle. _His eyes sparkled when he told me to do that. The spell. He has the powers too! I so can't tell him he has the powers or he will use it to get me to kiss him or something. Not that I'd mind. Well, I can't read his mind so he probably can't read mine so he won't have to know._ "Not that bad." She repeated as he pulled her closer.

"You're lucky I'm not the one with the power to control people." Derek grinned. "I would tell my teachers to let me leave class. I would tell Casey to do all of my chores for me. I would tell my parents to let me do whatever I want. I would convince the opposing hockey teams that our team is really the winner even when we're not. I would get Kendra to leave you alone. And then there's you. I would tell you to stop worrying about everything and to let your guard down because deep down I really am a nice guy and just kiss me already!"

Without saying a word, Candace pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his. It took Derek a moment to realize what was happening but when he finally did; he kissed her back with more passion than he had kissed any other girl before. He wrapped his arms around her waist. The kiss lasted for a long time. When they finally pulled away, Derek flashed his trademark smirk.

"It's the spell." Candace looked up at him. "You were given the powers too. When you told me to dance, I did. I didn't want to. I hate dancing in front of people. And, the whole kiss thing… never would have happened if it wasn't for the spell. And, if Andrew found out that we've been using his library as a place to party then he would have a cow or something. Either that or he would compare us to some Star Trek episode or some other super geeky thing." She kept rambling on and on. She was nervous. That was the best kiss she had ever had and she wanted another but she was afraid to let herself have something that good.

"You're so adorable when you're nervous and you babble." He kissed her again. This time he wanted to see if she would kiss him back without being told to. To both his and her surprise, she did.

Nothing else mattered at that moment. The one kiss turned into a full on make out session. Tongues entwined. Hands and lips were used as exploratory tools. Candace slowly backed up, pulling him with her. Once they reached one of the tables, she hoisted herself up and sat on it. The whole time, they never took their hands or lips off one another.

The bell rang to signify the end of the day. Neither Candace nor Derek paid any attention to a school bell.

Classes had just ended for the day. Emily and Sheldon walked hand in hand to the library. Emily grabbed the handle of one of the doors and pulled but it did not open. "That's odd. I could have sworn Candace told me to meet her in the library."

"Maybe she's on her way." Sheldon pointed out.

"Hey, Em. Hey, Sheldon." Casey walked up to her best friend. "What's going on?"

"Well, Candace told me to meet her here but the doors are locked." Emily replied.

"I know for a fact that she's been in there all day. Let me try her cell phone." The other girl pulled out her cell phone and dialed Candace's number. It rang but no one answered. "I won't give up there. I'll try Andrew since he is the librarian and all." She dialed Andrew's number and he picked up. "Hey, Andrew. It's me. Are you in the library?"

"No, I got attacked by Dru but don't worry, I'm fine." He assured her. "I'm at the nurse's office. I took a little nap. Candace and Derek are in the library though. Maybe, you should check on them. Amber managed to do the spell to give Candace the same powers as Dru."

"The library doors are locked." Casey pointed out. "What if something bad is in there with them?"

"I'm on my way with the key." Andrew hung up and hurried out of the nurse's office. He walked as fast as he could. Running was still not an option without him passing out. Finally, he reached the library and saw the three students waiting for him. "Everyone here, ok?" They all nodded. He pulled out his keys and unlocked the door.

Stepping into the library, eyes widened and mouths dropped open. Casey, Andrew, Emily and Sheldon were shocked at the sight before them. Music blared out of the speakers of Andrew's CD player. On one of the tables, with Derek on top of Candace, they were entangled in full on, make out, heavy groping mode.


	11. The Deal

Because of the loud music, neither Derek nor Candace was aware of their company. They were too wrapped up in one another. Andrew, Emily and Sheldon were all immobilized with shock. Casey, on the other hand had the urge to take action. She was infuriated with Derek. He was very possibly taking advantage of her new friend even though it did not look like that. She walked over to the CD player and turned it off. "DEREK VENTURI!"

Realizing that they had company, Candace's first reaction was to push Derek away from her. With most of her strength, she pushed him onto the floor. He landed with a thud. Quickly getting to her feet, she smoothed out her hair and clothes and turned bright red. "Oh, hey everyone. Um… I need something from the storage room." She ran into the back room.

"Ouch." Derek rubbed his head as he stood up.

"You have a lot of explaining to do." Casey glared at her step-brother. "But, I think I'd get a more honest answer from Candace." She ran after the slayer.

"So, I guess Kendra has good reason to worry about your new friend getting close to you." Sheldon spoke up.

"I think Casey may need my help." Emily followed Casey.

Picking up her jacket off of the floor in the storage room, Candace put it on and zipped it up. Taking one of the quarterstaffs and twirling it around, she started to pace back and forth. "I can't believe that when I finally decide to take the chance and kiss Derek, everyone walks in on it." She was talking to herself. "It was supposed to be a moment. I was finally having a moment and I screwed it up because I was stupid enough to let it happen in the library. And, I shouldn't have been doing that. I have to save the world."

"Who are you talking to?" Casey and Emily stood in the door way.

"Myself." Candace turned around to face her friends. "Are you guys mad at me?"

"No way." Emily replied. "I'm with Sheldon now. Yeah, ok, Derek is still hot but Sheldon and I have a connection."

"Plus, we know that this was all Derek's fault." Casey nodded.

"Actually…" Candace took a deep breath. "It's no one's fault. I've been so afraid to admit this to anyone but I really like him. That was probably the best kiss I have ever had. I'm just not ready to be in a relationship right now since I'm still adjusting to like everything."

"He is a good kisser." Emily nodded. Candace and Casey each gave her a weird look. "I kissed him once. When we went on that date to get you mad, Casey."

"I don't need to know these things." Casey shook her head. "Andrew said you have the powers from Dru."

"What are you talking about?" Emily asked. "Powers? And who is this Dru?"

"That's why I wanted you and Sheldon to meet me here." Candace explained. "And, Derek's got the powers too. You should probably keep your distance, Casey. He wants to make you do all of his chores."

"Still confused about this powers thing." Emily pointed out.

"Well, let's go have this discussion in the main part of the library." Casey led the way. "Andrew and Candace know most of the whole big scheme of things."

The three girls met up with Derek, Andrew and Sheldon all sitting at a table. Apparently, Sheldon had gotten hold of one of Andrew's books and he was trying to explain things. Derek was drumming his fingers on the table and staring off into space.

"I need to make an announcement." Candace proclaimed as the girls reached the table.

Everyone looked at her. Derek snapped out of his staring mode. "Is it about me?"

"The world does not revolve around you, Derek." She informed him. "This is an announcement for Emily and Sheldon." Derek was about to interrupt but she went up behind him and leaned her hands on his shoulders. She squeezed to let him know she was taking charge. "I'm a vampire slayer."

"I knew that." Emily shrugged.

"Me too." Sheldon looked up from the book.

"Derek! You just went and blabbed my secret to everyone?" Candace squeezed his shoulders tighter.

"Ow! And, no!" He grabbed her hands.

"I kinda told Emily." Casey put her hand up. "She's my best friend and I tell her everything."

"And, I told Sheldon." Emily sighed.

"Oh, good, so you all know." Andrew closed his book. "And, we just have to figure out how to stop Dru from opening up the Hellmouth. You can all help with the research."

"Well, I really need to go home and do some homework first but I'll be back later." Casey said. "Oh and I told my mom that I would see if my new friend wanted to come over for dinner tonight." She looked at Candace whose hands were still on Derek's shoulders. He still had his hands on hers.

"Sure, I could do with some food that isn't microwavable." Candace replied. "We should all go eat and do homework and then meet back here when it gets dark. That way, Spike and Amber can meet up with us too. And, then I can go nose around the basement."

"I'm going to go home and see what they're up to now." Andrew pointed out. "Anyone want a ride?"

"I'll go with you." Casey replied.

"Us too." Emily said. "We are neighbors."

"My car can only hold four without being too squished." Andrew said.

"You mean I have to walk home?" Derek asked.

"We." Candace sighed and went to gather her things.

"You two probably need to talk anyway." Sheldon said as he stood up.

"Yeah, I guess." Derek shrugged as he stood as well.

"And, remember, you two, don't be foolish with that power." Andrew informed as he left the library with his girlfriend and the other couple.

"Why does he have to be so redundant with the warnings?" Candace shook her head as she put her messenger bag on. "Hello! Not a baby! Obviously the powers that be think I'm mature enough to be the slayer so I think I can be trusted with these added bonus powers." Pulling out her cell phone, she went through her missed calls list as she walked over to the circulation desk. All of the calls were from Casey and Emily. Then, bam, she walked right into Derek again. "I should really stop playing with my cell phone while I'm walking."

Derek stared at her. He was lost in her beauty. Snapping out of it, he said, "When can we do that again?"

"How about… never?" She shrugged, back to being resistant when it came to him. Turning around, she walked out of the library.

"Hey, you can't just make out with a guy and then walk away like nothing happened." He followed her.

"I can and I just did." She pushed open the doors and stepped outside. "I have to worry about saving the world. And, I've only known you for a week. There will be no more making out."

"How can you just ignore something like this?" Derek asked. "You obviously have feelings for me. You've acted on them once. It's ok to act on them again."

Candace stopped and looked at him. "I am not ready for a relationship. I just moved here. I'm dealing with life and death situations every day. I'm adjusting to a new school and friends. I'm beyond stressed as it is. I don't need a boyfriend to make my life more stressful. All I need to something to make my life less stressful."

"You weren't feeling so stressed when you had your lips and hands all over me, though, were you?" Derek cocked his head to the side.

"Are you trying to make a point here?" She started walking again.

"Well, no one ever said that you have to be in a relationship to make out." He pointed out. "There's always the friends with benefits thing."

"I'm ignoring you now." She reached into her bag and fished around for her Ipod.

He grabbed her arm. "Just give it some thought. It could be a deal that we can both benefit from."

Candace looked at him. "Just because I liked kissing you and it did relieve some stress doesn't mean I will do it again."

"You like kissing me." Derek smiled. "And, I like kissing you. You're not ready to have a relationship with me yet. However, kissing me helped calm you down. I am willing to submit my lips to you whenever."

She thought for a moment. _He does have a point. And, he is the best kisser, ever! _Letting out a sigh, she said, "Fine. But, we can't tell anyone. If they ask about what happened in the library, it was the spell, got it?"

"Got it." He looked at her. _What Derek wants, Derek gets._ "Shall we seal the deal with a kiss?"

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Whatever." They stopped and they kissed each other. "I hope this isn't going to be something I'll regret." She said as they pulled away from one another. He kissed her again. "Not going to regret this." She smiled and they started walking again.


	12. The Final Battle is Just the Beginning

Arriving at Derek's house, they both looked around. "Hello? Anyone home?" Derek called as he took off his coat and dropped his back pack on the floor. After receiving, no answer, he grabbed Candace by the hand and ran upstairs with her.

At the top of the stairs, he ran into Casey. "What are you doing?"

Derek looked from his step-sister to his friend. "We're just going to go work on our English project until dinner's ready."

"So, you two aren't dating?" She asked.

"No way, Casey." Candace shook her head. "It was just the spell. He told me to kiss him and I did it. You know how he is."

"Yeah, you know me." Derek put on a fake grin.

"Yes, unfortunately, I do." Casey pushed her way down the stairs. "Mom and George should be home soon with Marti, Lizzie and Edwin. I'm going to start dinner."

"Just holler when dinner's ready." Derek pushed open his bedroom door and closed it behind them.

"You are acting way too eager to be working on an English project." Candace let go of his hand. "She's going to figure it out. Speaking of figuring things out… I need to figure out how to stop Dru. What if we run into her tonight? And, you need to be very careful when we're down in the basement. I don't want either one of us to end up as vampire food. I shouldn't be here right now. I should be training for the fight of my life." She reached for the doorknob but Derek grabbed her hand. "What are you doing? I have to go help Andrew or something."

"I'm helping you unstress." He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

"I don't think unstress is a real word." She turned around and smiled. "And, it sounds an awful lot like undress and if someone overhears you say that then there will be hell to pay."

"Stop talking." Derek pressed his lips to hers.

Leaning her back into the door, she kissed him back. Then, suddenly, the door was being pushed opened. "Smerek! We're home and dinner's ready!" It was the voice of a little girl who used all of her might to open the door.

Candace fell forward; pushing Derek as the door opened and the little girl ran into the room. "Smarti, what have I told you about knocking?" Derek asked his little sister as Candace turned around to face the little girl.

"That I should always knock when your door is closed." Marti shrugged. "Who is this girl? She's really pretty. Is she your girlfriend?"

"No." Candace said quickly. "I'm not his girlfriend. My name is Candace and I'm working on school project with Derek."

"What kind of project?" Marti asked.

"A lame one." Derek replied as he pushed his sister out of the room. He turned around and just as he was about to close his door, a foot came between the door and the frame. "Now what?" He turned around to be face to face with his father.

"Derek, how many times do I have to tell you about leaving you door open when you have girls over?" George Venturi looked at his son.

"Dad, we were just working on a project for school." Derek sighed.

"Well, dinner's ready so get washed up and head down there." George ushered his son out of the room. Candace followed. "Hi, I'm George. I hope you don't think I'm a mean old father for that."

Candace shrugged. "Nah. You're just being a good father. I'm Candace." They shook hands and went down to dinner.

Dinner was interesting. Everyone took turns asking Candace questions and she was happy to answer. By the time they were finish, it was starting to get dark. Looking at her watch, Candace stood up. "Derek, Casey, we should be getting to the library before it closes. We need to get those books for school."

"Right, school books." Casey nodded. "Is that ok, mom?"

"Sure, go right ahead, honey." Nora waved to her daughter.

"Derek's going to the library?" George asked.

"Only because I'm making him." Candace replied. "I want a good grade on our project." The three teenagers hurried out of the house. Standing on the front porch, Candace looked from Casey to Derek. "First, we need to go to my house and pick up some weapons."

"Yeah, weapons." Casey followed her friend. "Wait, are you going to actually let Derek wield a weapon?"

"I'm good with the weapons." Derek protested. "I took Candace down in training today."

"That was a fluke." Candace walked up her front walk way. "Normally, my opponents don't pretend they're in a hockey game." She turned the door knob and walked into the house. On her living room couch, in a passionate embrace, Spike and Amber were making out. "What is with all the kissage today?"

Spike and Amber pulled away from one another. "Oh, hey Candace. We didn't know you were coming home." Amber looked at the three teenagers.

"Or that you were bringing your friends." Spike shot a glare at Derek.

"Where's Andrew?" Casey asked.

"He went to the library already." Amber replied. "He brought your neighbor and her boyfriend with him."

"Apparently the big show down with Dru is going to be tonight." Spike shrugged nonchalantly.

"What?" Candace asked. "I thought we were just going on a mission of exploration."

"You've got the powers." Amber looked at the slayer. "You'll only have them until midnight and that's the only way you'll be able to defeat Dru."

"I'm not ready for this." The slayer began pacing back and forth. "I have had such a crazy day. Facing Dru for the third time was not on my agenda for the night. I need a full army to defeat her. Not my miniscule army of me and the hockey player."

"Is she ok?" Amber wondered out loud.

"She's nervous." Derek pointed out.

"How do we calm her nerves?" Casey asked.

"Calm down." Derek told Candace.

"Ok, calm now." She let out a sigh as if the world had been lifted off of her shoulders. Walking over to the weapons chest, she pulled out her arsenal. "Everyone grab some weapons. We're going to take down Dru."

The other four did as they were instructed. Once everyone had their weapons, they left for the school.

"Good, the rest of our team has arrived." Andrew announced as Casey, Candace, Derek, Spike and Amber entered the library.

"Ok, we're here." Spike nodded. "So, what do you have planned?"

"Well, Casey and Amber will be doing a spell." Andrew began. "It will give Candace and Derek the full powers of telekinesis. They will be able to read thoughts and control Dru's actions. They will be headed down into the basement to fight Dru and her accomplice. Sheldon and Emily will be helping me do the spell to keep anything from coming up from the basement. That means, Candace and Derek won't be able to come up until they've defeated Dru. Spike, you'll be guarding the library entrance to make sure no one comes in, especially bad guys. Everyone got their roles down?"

"Why does he play a bigger part in this than me?" Spike asked.

"Spike!" Amber scolded.

"Jealous?" Derek raised an eyebrow.

"He plays a bigger part because this isn't a Buffy-run show." Candace glared at the vampire. "This is a Candace-run show. And, Derek, don't taunt him."

"The reason is that Candace and Derek share a cosmic connection." Andrew pointed out. "There are prophecies about their destiny together. However, that is a story we shall save for a day when we are now impending doom from the evil she-Kraken that is Drusilla."

"Prophecies?" Candace looked to her watcher.

"Destiny together?" Derek smirked.

"We don't have enough time to go over this." The watcher grabbed the slayer and her friend by their arms and led them over to the hatch in the floor. "You two have to get down there now. You won't be able to use your telekinetic powers on one another. Everyone needs to get into their place." He opened the hatch and shoved them down into the darkness. Everyone else had taken their places.

Casey and Amber were doing their spell in the storage room. Andrew, Emily and Sheldon were in his office doing their spell. Spike was standing guard at the library doors.

Flicking on her flashlight, Candace shone it around the room. "I can't believe he just pushed us down here." Derek grabbed her hand. "What are you doing?"

"I'm scared?" He held onto her hand. "So, how do we know where Dru is supposed to be?"

Shining the light on the floor, the slayer noticed a trail of blood. "I think we follow the bloody brick road." Her ears perked up at the sound of maniacal laughter coming from somewhere down the hall. "And, we go towards the sound of the crazy lady." Letting go of his hand, she pulled a stake out of the sleeve of her shirt. As if something turned on in her head, she started running down the hall. Derek followed, managing to pull a stake out of his sleeve as he ran.

Stopping at the end of the hall, there it was. The seal that opens the Hellmouth sat in all of its glory with its Celtic symbol. Dru was standing in the middle chanting some words in Celtic. Surrounding the vampire was a hoard of male vampires. "Attack!" One of the vampires commanded.

"Attack?" Derek swallowed. He was just realizing what he was getting into and it was scary.

"Derek, stay calm." Candace instructed. "We've got the upper hand, remember? I'm the slayer. I'm a vampire killing machine. And, Amber and Casey are doing the spell."

The vampire began to rush forward. There was a sparkle in both Candace's and Derek's eyes. "I'm trying." He whispered.

"Stop." Candace instructed the vampires. All at once, the vampires stopped in their tracks. Taking the crossbow from around her torso, the slayer shot down all of the vampires until the only one left was Dru.

Drusilla stopped her chanting and looked at the slayer. Her eyes were bright red. "You are going to pay." Without lifting a finger, the vampire tossed the slayer to the other side of the room.

"Candace!" Derek ran to the slayer's side and helped her up.

"She's been down here powering up." Candace looked at him. "But, we've been powering up too." Running over to the vampire, she punched her in the jaw. Dru growled and punched the slayer in the stomach. "Back off, Dru." The slayer raised her stake.

Knocking the stake from Candace's hand, Dru vamped out. "Never." She grabbed the slayer and just as she was about to sink her teeth into Candace's neck, Derek spoke up.

"Get away from her!" Derek commanded. The vampire let go of Candace as soon as he had said that.

Using this to her advantage, Candace shoved Dru towards the seal. Soon, the vampire and the slayer were in full battle mode. Punches, kicks, jabs, blows. Back and forth they fought. Neither one would give up so easily. One harsh punch to the jaw and Candace's mouth started bleeding. As the blood dripped onto the seal, the whole room started to shake. The seal was glowing. It was going to open and soon.

_The only way to stop this from taking over the world is to not let Dru get to Derek send her into the Hellmouth._ There was this female voice in Candace's head and it was not her own. It was the voice of Amber. She was channeling the slayer. Shoving Candace off of the seal, Dru kicked her.

The seal opened and all hell was about to break lose if the slayer did not shove the vampire into that hole. Walls started to crumble. Looking behind her at Derek, Candace yelled, "Get out of here, Derek!" She punched Dru.

"I'm not leaving you." Derek called back.

"Just leave now!" Another kick to Dru's stomach.

A piece of wood fell in front of Derek. He couldn't get to the slayer now if he tried his hardest.

"I hope you'll like having your blood drained." Dru grabbed the slayer's arm and twisted it.

The ceiling was starting to crack. Looking at the seal, Candace gave Dru a backwards head butt. "Derek, tell Andrew I'm gong to miss him. I'll miss everyone."

"What are you talking about?" Derek questioned, a worried look on his face.

"Just get out of here." Turning around, the slayer faced Drusilla. "And, thanks for the fighting tip." She ran at Dru the same way Derek had run at her earlier.

Rubble was starting to fall quicker now. Derek could barely make out what was going on. All he saw was the slayer and the vampire fall into the opening. There was nothing he could do now. The room was going to cave in at any second. He had no choice but to leave Candace.

As the entire room caved in, with the slayer now gone into the Hellmouth, Derek ran down the hall. Furiously, he started to pound on the hatch. To his surprise, Casey opened the hatch. "Where's Candace?" She asked.

Climbing up into the library, Derek had a look on his face that spelled out doom and gloom. "She pushed Dru into the Hellmouth. But, she ended up going in with her." It was almost as if he was going to cry. But, Derek Venturi would never cry in front of other people, especially Casey.

"You mean she's dead?" Andrew walked over to the others. Emily, Sheldon, Amber and Spike crowded around as well. Tears welled up in everyone's eyes except for Spike and Derek. They were too macho to cry. Andrew pulled Casey into a hug and they cried to one another.

"She did save the world though." Spike pointed out. "It's a slayer thing. You'll sacrifice yourself if it means you'll save the world."

After an hour of crying, everyone started to clean up in the library. Everyone, except for Derek. He was seated in a chair and just staring at the hatch. _She changed me and now she's gone. I was really starting to like her. I wanted to be with her. I shouldn't have made that stupid friends with benefits deal with her. I should have pushed for the big committed relationship. But, no, Derek Venturi doesn't do commitment and she wasn't ready. I miss her. I'll never be the same now that she's gone._ He was so busy in thought that he didn't see Casey take the seat next to him.

"You really liked her, didn't you?" His step-sister asked.

"Why did it have to end like this?" Derek looked at her.

"She did what she had to do." Spike chimed in.

"I just wish she didn't have to do it." Amber piped up.

"She was the best." Andrew sighed, picking up his books. "I loved her like she was my little sister."

Emily and Sheldon had come over as well. "There was just something about her that made her so likable. I haven't even known her for very long and I just liked everything she did." Emily wiped a tear from her eye.

"She will be greatly missed." Sheldon pointed out.

They were all caught up in their grieving. No one heard or saw the hatch door open. No one saw the figure climb into the library. A dirty, bloody, figure stood there listening to their conversation.

"I hate this job sometimes." Andrew sighed. "I hate losing loved ones."

"Especially the ones that make your life worthwhile." Amber nodded.

"Aww, you guys are so awesome!" The figure said from behind the group. "I love you too!"

Everyone turned around and there she was. Candace had survived. Sure she was dirty and bleeding and limping but she was alive. Everyone's jaws dropped. They all ran over to her and gave her a group hug. "You're alive!" Casey squealed.

"Yeah, but you could guys ease up on the hugging?" Candace asked. "I'm in pain here." They pulled back. She looked at Derek. "Thanks."

"For what?" Derek asked.

"Going with me and risking your life." The slayer replied. "So, now should we all head home? Because I'm feeling like I need a hot shower and a good night sleep." Derek was about to say something. "Don't even think it!" She exclaimed. He smiled.

"I thought you went into the Hellmouth with Dru." Emily said.

"Dru went into the Hellmouth and it closed just as I was about to fall in." Candace explained. "But, then the room started to cave in so Derek must not have seen me."

"That's amazing." Casey said.

"Guys, let's talk about it on the way home." Candace walked towards the library doors. Her friends followed. "So, what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" She asked Andrew.

"I'm sure we'll find something." The watcher replied.

"Either that or you'll get expelled for destroying the basement." Derek pointed out.

"You were down there with me." She laughed.

"Derek's almost gotten expelled once before." Sheldon said.

"Not really surprising." Candace grinned. "Well, that was the final battle for this situation."

"I wonder what's next." Casey said.

"It could be anything, really." Andrew began. "Demons, bug people, werewolves, incubi, succubae, anything! You name it!"

"Andrew!" Everyone looked at him and laughed.

**The next day**

It was lunch time. By now, Candace stopped worrying about the glares people were giving her. She was covered in bruises and cuts. She was fine though. Everything would heal in a few days. Now, she was stressing about her English assignment with Derek. It was due the next day. Deciding to forgo lunch, she grabbed Derek by the arm and led him to the nearest custodial closet. It was quiet in there. "What are we doing?" He asked.

"I am so stressed out about that English project." Candace sighed. "It's due tomorrow. We have to get cracking on it. I can't fail English. It's one of my favorite subjects." Derek stopped her with a kiss to the lips. She pulled away. "I'm sorry but after almost being buried to death with debris, I've realized something. We can't keep this deal up."

"So, what do you want then?" Derek asked.

"Just friends for now." She opened the door as the bell rang. "But, give it time. We may eventually get together and have a monogamous relationship. There are prophecies."

"Time." He followed her. _I hope I can pull this off._ "I'm willing to wait for you."_ I can't believe I'm going to put myself through that torture. _

"I think you've become a changed man, Derek Venturi." Candace smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "But, don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Good." Derek nodded. As they began walking to class, they started to talk about all kinds of things.

_Time. It may change everything. I will not tell him about the prophecies though. I'll keep that to myself until the time is right._ Candace nodded and they went back to their busy teenager lives. She was going to like it here in Canada. Life may actually be good from now on. That thought brought a smile to her face. Only the select few were privileged enough to know her secret. And, those select few were the true friends a slayer could have in her life.


End file.
